ONE THOUSAND AND 
ONE THOUGHTS FROM 
MY LIBRARY Mm 




D.L.MOODY 



2nd COPY, 
1898. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap.. Copyright No. 

ON 48 < 



Shelf. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



One Thousand and One 
Thoughts from My Library 



Notes from My Bible 

By D. L. Moody 

Being the marginal notes, comments, 

illustrations, etc., copied from the 

author's Bible. 13th thousand. 

i2mo, cloth, $1.00. 

" From beginning to end, the comments 
are full of the plain common sense which 
has made Mr. Moody's sermons and writings 
famous throughout the English-speaking 
world. The book will prove invaluable to 
preachers and teachers."— 7^he St. Louis 
Christian Advocate. 



For complete list of Mr. Moody's 
writings see the end of this volume. 



One Thousand and One 
Thoughts from My Library 



BY 

/ 

D. L. MOODY 



Chicago, III. 

The Bible Institute Colportage Association 

East Northfield, Mass. 



The Lis « «y 

C)t- Covi >< HSS 



U ^MINGTON 




3 



Copyright, 1898 
by 

Fleming H. Revell Company 




The Mission of a Good Book 

// will go anywhere, sea or land, 
Gets into cabin or palace, 
Reaches those otherwise unreachable, 
Waits its time to be heard, 
Is never tired of speaking. 

Travels further and cheaper than any other ; 
Is unaffected by climate, untouched by fever. 

Once started off, calls for no salary, 
Costs nothing to feed or clothe. 

Never changes its voice, and lasts 
Forever — until the fire comes ! 



By Way of Preface 



Why are not more gems from our great authors 
scattered over the country ? Great books are not in 
everybody's reach; and though it is better to know 
them thoroughly than to know them only here and 
there, yet it is a good work to give a little to those 
who have neither time nor means to get more. Let 
every book-worm, when in any fragrant scarce old 
tome he discovers a sentence, a story, an illustration, 
that does his heart good, hasten to give it to others. 

COLERIDGE. 



One Thousand and One Thoughts 
from My Library 



And God said, Let there be light: and there was light, gen. 

God said, Let there be light: and there was light. L 3- 
How simple! And yet how Godlike! "He spake, 
and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast." 
Infidelity may ask, "How? where? when?" The 
answer is, "By faith we understand that the worlds 
were framed by the word of God, so that things which 
are seen were not made of things which do appear." 

c. h. Mcintosh. 

The Lord God planted a garden . . . and there GEN> 
he put the man whom he had formed. And out of ii. 8, 9. 
the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree 
that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food. 

By one man sin entered into the world. — Rom. v. 12. 
The doctrine of environment had its deathblow in 

the garden of Eden. g. Campbell morgan. 

A river went out of Eden to water the garden. GEN< 
A pure river of water of life . . . proceeding out ii. 10. 

of the throne of God and of the Lamb. — Rev. xxii. 1. 

The Bible is a circle, in describing which the Divine 
hand begins in Paradise and ends there. In Genesis 
God dwells with men, and He does so in Revelation. 
In Genesis man is in Eden, with the river that watered 
the garden, and the trees yielding their pleasant fruits, 

9 



One Thousand and One 



and in Revelation man is in the garden of God once 
more, with this advantage, that no serpent is there to 
beguile, and no forbidden fruit to allure. 

JOHN HALL. 

gen. Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence 
ii. 8. of the Lord God, amongst the trees of the garden. 

We also, when like to be obtruded on by the pres- 
ence of God to our conscience or our thoughts, do, by 
a movement almost instinctive, flee to hide ourselves. 
We too have our gardens of vain security, our places 
of sweet and soothing forgetfulness, which serve, to 
ourselves at least, the temporary purpose of a hiding- 
place from God. If they do not hinder Him from see- 
ing us, they at least hinder us from seeing Him; and 
this does in the meantime, for a respite from all 
those troublesome awakenings, which might else have 
haunted our spirits, and rifled away from them the 
rest and the enjoyments which we are so fain to pro- 
long. CHALMERS. 

gen. Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 

v - On the summit of a hill in a Western State is a court- 
house, so situated that the raindrops that fall on one 
side of the roof descend into Lake Erie, and thence, 
through the St. Lawrence, into the Atlantic. The 
drops on the other side trickle down from rivulet to 
river, until they reach the Ohio and Mississippi, and 
enter the ocean by the Gulf of Mexico. A faint breath 
of wind determines the destination of these raindrops 
for three thousand miles. So a single act determines, 
sometimes, a human destiny for all time and for eter- 
nity. CUYLER. 

Death did not first strike Adam, the first sinful man; 
10 



Thoughts from My Library 



nor Cain, the first hypocrite; but Abel, the innocent 
and righteous. The first soul that met with death 
overcame death: the first soul that parted from earth 
went to heaven. Death argues not displeasure; be- 
cause he whom God loved best died first; and the 
murderer was punished while living. bishop hall. 

The bow shall be in the cloud ; and I will look upon it, gen. 

that I may remember the everlasting covenant. ix- 16. 

The whole creation rests, as to its exemption from a 
second deluge, on the eternal stability of God's cove- 
nant, of which the bow is the token; and it is happy 
to bear in mind, that when the bow appears, the eye 
of God rests upon it; and man is cast, not upon his 
own imperfect and most uncertain memory, but upon 
God's. "I," says God, "will remember." How 
sweet to think of what God will, and what He will 
not, remember! He will remember His own covenant, 
but He will not remember His people's sins. The 
cross, which ratifies the former, puts away the latter. 

c. h. Mcintosh. 

Get thee out . . . unto a land that I will show thee. gen. 

This same voice has often spoken since. It called X1L l - 
Elijah from Thisbe, and Amos from Tekoa; Peter 
from his fishing nets, and Matthew from his toll- 
booth; Cromwell from his farm in Huntingdon, and 
Luther from his cloister at Erfurt. It ever sounds the 
perpetual summons of God. "Come out from among 
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch 
not the unclean thing." Has it not come to you? 
Strange, if it has not. Yet, if it has, let nothing hinder 
your obedience; strike your tents, and follow where 
the God of glory beckons; and in that word "Come," 

1 1 



One Thousand and One 



understand that He is moving on in front, and that if 
you would have His companionship, you must follow. 

F. B. MEYER. 

gen. / will bless thee . . . and thou shalt be a blessing. 
KlL 2 * It is good for us to think that no grace or blessing is 
truly ours till we are aware that God has blessed 
some one else with it through us. Phillips brooks. 

gen. If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the 
.111. 9. right ; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will 
go to the left. 

The man of faith can easily afford to allow the man 
of sight to take his choice. He can say, " If thou wilt 
take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if 
thou wilt depart to the right hand, then I will go to 
the left." What beautiful disinterestedness and moral 
elevation we have here! and yet what security ! It is 
certain that let nature range where it will, let it take its 
most comprehensive grasp, its boldest and highest 
flight there is never the slightest danger of its laying 
its hand upon faith's treasure. It will seek its portion 
in quite an opposite direction. Faith lays up its treas- 
ure in a place which nature would never dream of ex- 
amining, and, as to its approaching thereto, it could 
not if it would; and it would not if it could. Hence, 
therefore, faith is perfectly safe, as well as beautifully 
disinterested, in allowing nature to take its choice. 

c. h. Mcintosh. 

The Lord said unto Abram . . . Lift up now thine 
eyes, and look . . . northward, and southward, 
and eastward and westward. 

It is difficult to read these words, " northward, and 
12 



GEN. 
Xiii.14. 



Thoughts from My Library 



southward, and eastward, and westward," without 
being reminded of "the breadth, and length, and 
depth, and height" of "the love of Christ which 
passeth knowledge." Much of the land of Canaan 
was hidden behind the ramparts of the hills,, but 
enough was seen to ravish that faithful spirit. Simi- 
larly, we may not be able to comprehend the love of 
God in Christ, but the higher we climb the more we 
behold. The upper cliffs of the separated life com- 
mand the fullest view of the measureless expanse. 

F. B. MEYER. 

The word of the Lord came unto Abram. gen. 

He did not need to go to search for it; it came xv * lm 
to him. And so it will come to you. It may come 
through the Word of God, or through a distinct im- 
pression made on your heart by the Holy Ghost, or 
through circumstances; but it will find you out, and 
tell you what you are to do. . . . There is no 
spot on earth so lonely, no cave so deep and dark, that 
the word of the Lord cannot discover and come to us. 

F. B. MEYER. 

And it came to pass, that when the sun went down, gen. 
and it was dark, behold, a smoking furnace, and a xv - l l- 
burning lamp that passed between those pieces. 
When the ancients wanted to take an oath they 
would slay an animal, divide it lengthwise, and lay 
the pieces opposite to each other. Then the parties 
would advance from opposite points, and midway be- 
tween the pieces take the oath. God wished to take 
an oath. He ordered a heifer and some birds slain 
and divided, and the pieces lain opposite to each 
other; then between the pieces passed first a furnace, 

13 



One Thousand and One 



typical of suffering, and then a lamp, emblem of de- 
liverance. 

So it is in the history of individuals, cities, and na- 
tions. First the awful furnace, then the cheerful lamp. 
The furnace of conviction, the lamp of pardon. The 
furnace of trial, the lamp of consolation. The fur- 
nace of want, the lamp of prosperity. The furnace 
of death, the lamp of glory. talmage. 

gen. Thou God seest me. 

LI 3- When no eye seeth you except the eye of God, 
when darkness covers you, when you are shut up 
from the observation of mortals, even then be ye like 
Jesus Christ. Remember His ardent piety, His secret 
devotion — how, after laboriously preaching the whole 
day, He stole away in the midnight shades to cry for 
help from His God. Recollect how His entire life was 
constantly sustained by fresh inspirations of the Holy 
Spirit, derived by prayer. Take care of your secret 
life; let it be such that you will not be ashamed to 
read it at the last great day. spurgeon. 

gen. Walk before me, and be thou perfect 

1L *• In other words, Christian perfection is a spiritual 
constellation, made up of these gracious stars, — per- 
fect repentance, perfect faith, perfect humility, perfect 
meekness, perfect self-denial, perfect resignation, per- 
fect hope, perfect charity for our visible enemies as 
well as for our earthly relations, and, above all, perfect 
love for our invisible God through the explicit knowl- 
edge of our Mediator Jesus Christ. And as this last 
star is always accompanied by all the others, as Jupiter 
is by his satellites, we frequently use, as St. John, the 
phrase "perfect love," instead of the word "perfec- 

14 



Thoughts from My Library 



tion " ; understanding by it the pure love of God shed 
abroad in the hearts of established believers by the 
Holy Ghost, which is abundantly given them under 
the fullness of the Christian dispensation. 

J. FLETCHER. 

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? gen. 

Resignation is putting God between one's self and xvin. 

one's grief. madame swetchine. 2 5* 

While he lingered. gen. 
Lot was the Pliable of the earliest Pilgrim's Progress. x ^ x - 1 ^- 

F. B. MEYER. 

In Isaac shall thy seed be called. gen. 
Take . . . Isaac . . . and offer him . . . xxi.12. 

for a burnt-offering. — Gen. xxii. 2. 

"In Isaac shall thy seed be called" — there was a 
promise. "Offer Isaac for a burnt-offering" — there 
was a command. How did Abraham reconcile them ? 
He did not, he could not. He simply obeyed the com- 
mand, and God fulfilled the promise. The reconcile- 
ment was complete. hector hall. 

// came to pass after these things, that God did tempt gen. 
Abraham. xxii. 1. 

God sends us no trial, whether great or small, with- 
out first preparing us. Trials are God's vote of con- 
fidence in us. Many a trifling event is sent to test us, 
ere a greater trial is permitted to break on our heads. 
We are set to climb the lower peaks before urged to the 
loftiest summits with their virgin snows; are made to 
run with the footmen, before contending with horses; 

15 



One Thousand and One 

are taught to wade in the shallows, before venturing 
into the swell of the ocean waves. f. b. meyer. 

Temptation is that which puts to the test. Trials 
sent by God do this. A test is never employed for 
the purpose of injury. A weight is attached to a rope, 
not to break, but to prove it. Pressure is applied to a 
boiler, not to burst it, but to certify its power of resist- 
ance. The testing process here confers no strength. 
But when a sailor has to navigate his ship under a 
heavy gale and in a difficult channel; or when a gen- 
eral has to fight against a superior force and on dis- 
advantageous ground, skill and courage are not only 
tested, but improved. The test has brought experi- 
ence, and by practice is every faculty perfected. So, 
faith grows stronger by exercise, and patience by the 
enduring of sorrow. Thus alone it was that "God 
did tempt Abraham." newman hall. 

Because thou . . . hast not withheld thy son . . . 
/ will bless thee. 

It is from the dark clouds in our sky that the show- 
ers of blessing come. 

Good speed this day. 

To live for to-day is in the noblest sense to live for 
eternity. To be my very best this very hour, to do the 
very best for those about me, and to spend this moment 
in a spirit of absolute consecration to God's glory, this 
is the duty that confronts me. d. j. burrell. 

/ bowed down my head, and worshipped the Lord, and 
blessed the Lord God. 

Worship is the overflowing of a full heart; prayer 
is the craving of an empty heart. 

16 



GEN. 

xxii. 
1 6. 



GEN. 

xxiv. 

12. 



GEN. 

xxiv. 

4 8. 



Thoughts from My Library 



Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I gen. _ 
may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son xxv u- 
Esau. 2 1 ' 

Only one man in the Bible wanted to feel, and he 

was deceived. 

/ am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither gen. 

thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land, xxviii. 

"With thee," companionship; "Keep thee," guar- 
dianship; " Bring thee," guidance. 

Now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. 

Every hard duty that lies in your path that you would 
rather not do, that it will cost you pain, or struggle, or 
sore effort to do, has a blessing in it. Not to do it, at 
whatever cost, is to miss the blessing. Every heavy 
load that you are called to lift hides in itself some 
strange secret of strength. 

A negro preacher once said, " Bredren, whateber de 
good God tell me to do in dis blessed Book, dat I'm 
gwine to do. If I see in it dat I must jump troo a 
stone wall, I'm gwine to jump at it. Going troo it be- 
longs to God; jumpin' at it 'longs to me." 

Mahanaim {two hosts). 

" Mahanaim " is still the name of every place where 
a man who loves God pitches his tent. We may be 
wandering, solitary, defenceless, but we are not alone. 
Our feeble encampment may lie open to assault, and 
we be all unfit to guard it, but the other camp is there 
too, and our enemies must force their way through it 
before they get at us. mclaren. 

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One Thousand and One 



gen. / am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. 
xxxn. Measure your mercies by the foot rule of your de- 
serts. MARK GUY PEARSE. 



gen. He touched the hollow of his thigh . . . And he 
xxxl *- said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but 
2 ">> 28 ' Israel. 

In the ancient times, a box on the ear given by a 
master to a slave meant liberty : little would the freed- 
man care how hard was the blow. By a stroke from 
the sword the warrior was knighted by his monarch: 
small matter was it to the new-made knight if the 
hand was heavy. When the Lord intends to lift His 
servants into a higher stage of spiritual life, He fre- 
quently sends them a severe trial; He makes His Jacobs 
to be prevailing princes, but He confers the honor 
after a night of wrestling, and accompanies it with a 
shrunken sinew. Be it so: who among us would 
wish to be deprived of the trials, if they are the 
necessary attendants of spiritual advancement ? 

SPURGEON. 

gen. / will not let thee go except thou bless me. 
xxxn. i^- was on hj s k nees that Jacob became a prince; and 
2 ' if we would become princes, we must be more upon 
our knees. Williams. 

gen. They . . . sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites. 
XXX 28 Those hirds soar the highest that have had the hard- 
est upbringing. . . . Even so, God usually nurses 
those amid difficulties and hardships who are destined 
to rise to eminence, and accomplish great deeds on 
earth. guthrie. 

18 



Thoughts from My Library 



He left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew gen.^ 
not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. xxxix. 
If you are a servant, make your employer feel that 
you are the most reliable person about the place. 
Joseph in jail was as reliable as when governor of 
Egypt. Cream rises to the top even if it is in a wash- 
hand basin. champness. 

He was there in the prison, but the Lord was with Joseph, gen. 

God never places us in any position in which we can- 2Q ^ 
not grow. We may fancy that He does. We may 
fear we are so impeded by fretting petty cares that we 
are gaining nothing; but when we are not sending 
any branches upward, we may be sending roots 
downward. Perhaps in the time of our humiliation, 
when everything seems a failure, we are making the 
best kind of progress. e. prentiss. 

The Lord . . . showed him mercy. gen. 

Oh! wondrous revelation! Joseph 'did not stand in XXX1X 
a niche on the mountain side, as Moses did, whilst the 
solemn pomp swept past; and yet the Lord showed 
him a great sight — He showed him His mercy. The 
prison cell was the mount of vision, from the height 
of which he saw, as he had never seen before, the 
panorama of Divine loving-kindness. It were well 
worth his while to go to prison to learn that. When 
children gather to see the magic lantern, the figures 
may be flung upon the sheet, and yet be invisible, be- 
cause the room is full of light. Darken the room, 
and instantly the round circle of light is filled with 
brilliant color. God our Father has often to turn 
down the lights of our life because He wants to show 
us mercy. Whenever you get into a prison of cir- 

19 



21. 



One Thousand and One 



cumstances, be on the watch. Prisons are rare places 
for seeing things. It was in prison that Bunyan saw 
his wondrous allegory, and Paul met the Lord, and 
John looked through heaven's open door, and Joseph 
saw God's mercy. God has no chance to show His 
mercy to some of us except when we are in some 
sore sorrow. The night is the time to see the stars. 

F. B. MEYER. 

The arms of his hands were made strong by the hands 
of the mighty God of Jacob. 

The old legend tells us that Ulysses, returning home 
after long years, proved his identity by bending a bow 
which had defied the efforts of the stoutest heroes 
who had tried it in his absence. There are a good 
many of these defiant bows lying all around us. 
Tasks that deride our puny efforts; empty churches 
that will not fill; wicked neighborhoods that will not 
yield; hardened soils that will not admit the plough- 
share to cut info their crust. The one thing of which 
we need to assure ourselves is — whether it be God's 
will for us to take them in hand: if not, it is useless 
to attempt the task; we may as well husband and re- 
serve our strength. But if it is made clear to us that 
we are to take up armor, methods, instrumentalities, 
once wielded by giant hands, but now as unbefitting 
these poorer times as the armor of the age of chivalry 
mocks at the smaller make of modern warriors — let 
us not hesitate for a single moment, let us assume the 
armor of defence and the weapons of attack; and, as 
we do so, we shall become aware of a strength being 
infused into us— not ours, but His: "the arms of our 
hands will be made strong by the hands of the mighty 
God of Jacob." f. b. meyer. 

20 



Thoughts from My Library 



She took for him an ark of bulrushes ; and she laid it ex. 

in the flags by the river's brink. 1L . 

The mother of Moses laid the ark in the flags by the 
river's brink. Ay, but before doing so she laid it on 
the heart of God! She could not have laid it so cour- 
ageously upon the Nile, if she had not first devoutly laid 
it upon the care and love of God. We are often sur- 
prised at the outward calmness of men who are called 
upon to do unpleasant and most trying deeds ; but could 
we have seen them in secret we should have known the 
moral preparation which they underwent before coming 
out to be seen of men. Be right in the sanctuary if you 
would be right in the market-place. Be steadfast in 
prayer if you would be calm in affliction. Start your 
race from the throne of God itself, if you would run 
well, and win the prize. Joseph parker. 

Come now . . . and I will send thee unto Pharaoh ex. 
that thou may est bring forth my people . . . out 11L 
of Egypt. 

None of us can tell for what God is educating us. 
We fret and murmur at the narrow round and daily 
task of ordinary life, not realizing that it is only thus 
that we can be prepared for the high and holy office 
which awaits us. We must descend before we can 
ascend. We must suffer, if we would reign. We 
must take the via cruris (v/ay of the cross) submis- 
sively and patiently if we would tread the via lucis 
(way of light). We must endure the polishing if we 
would be shafts in the quiver of Emmanuel. God's 
will comes to thee and me in daily circumstances, in 
little things equally as in great: meet them bravely; 
be at your best always, though the occasion be one of 

21 



One Thousand and One 



the very least; dignify the smallest summons by the 
greatness of your response. f. b. meyer. 

ex. / am that I am. 
llL *4- God gives to the body, — He is to the soul. 

JOHN KER. 

ex. The Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand ? 
iv. 2. fr e sa ^ 4 f0 ^ 

It was probably only a shepherd's crook. What a 
history, however, awaited it! It was to be stretched 
out over the Red Sea, pointing a pathway through its 
depths; to smite the flinty rock; to win victory over 
the hosts of Amalek; to be known as the rod of God. 
When God wants an implement for His service He 
does not choose the golden sceptre, but a shepherd's 
crook; the weakest and meanest thing He can find — 
a ram's horn, a cake of barley meal, an ox-goad, an 
earthen pitcher, a shepherd's sling. ... A rod 
with God behind it is mightier than the vastest army. 

F. B. MEYER. 

ex. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the 
lv - l 3- hand of him whom thou wilt send. 

It was a very grudging assent. It was as much as 
to say, "Since Thou art determined to send me, and I 
must undertake the mission, then let it be so; but I 
would that it might have been another, and I go be- 
cause I am compelled." So often do we shrink back 
from the sacrifice or obligation to which God calls us, 
that we think we are going down to our doom. We 
seek every reason for evading the Divine will, little 
realizing that He is forcing us out from our quiet home 
into a career which' includes, among other things, the 

22 



Thoughts from My Library 



song of victory on the banks of the Red Sea; the two 
lonely sojourns for forty days in converse with God; 
the shining face; the vision of glory; the burial by the 
hand of Michael; and the supreme honor of standing 
beside the Lord on the Transfiguration Mount. 

F. B. MEYER. 

Thou shalt speak all that I command thee. ex. 

To every one of us God gives something that He vn - 2 * 
wants us to say to others. We cannot all write poems 
or hymns, or compose books which will bless men; 
but if we live near the heart of Christ, there is not one 
of us into whose ear He will not whisper some frag- 
ment of truth, some revealing of grace or love, or to 
whom He will not give some experience of comfort 
in sorrow, some new glimpse of glory. Each friend 
of Christ, living close to Him, learns something from 
Him and of Him which no one has learned before, 
which he is to forth-tell to the world. 

J. R. MILLER. 

Take heed to thyself. ex. 

Art thou a traveller, like him who prayed, " Guide x - 
my footsteps " ? Take heed to thyself lest thou wan- 
der from the way, lest thou turn to the right or left. 
Walk on the King's highway. Art thou an architect? 
Lay firmly the foundation of faith, which is Jesus 
Christ. Art thou a builder ? Look how thou buildest 
and what, — not wood, grass, stubble; but gold, sil- 
ver, and precious stones. A pastor ? Take heed lest 
any of the duties belonging to thine office are omitted. 
A husbandman ? Dig round the barren fig-tree, and 
supply it with what is needed to produce fruitfulness. 
Art thou a soldier? Endure hardship for the Gospel, 

23 



One Thousand and One 



engage in the good warfare against the spirits of dark- 
ness, against the affections of the flesh. Entangle not 
thyself with the affairs of this life, that thou may est 
please Him who has called thee to be a soldier. Art 
thou an athlete ? Take heed to thyself lest thou trans- 
gress any of the laws of the contest, for no one is 
crowned unless he strive lawfully, basil the great. 

ex. Every firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb. 

l 3- Little things are made important in the Scriptures. 
This is an apparently out-of-the-way incident. Out of 
the way ! What way ? Out of our way, possibly ; but 
what is our way? a little path leading nowhere: a 
road we have made with which to please ourselves to 
go up and down upon, and suppose to be the uni- 
verse. JOSEPH PARKER. 

ex. Speak unto the children of Israel that they encamp 
. . . between Midgol and the sea, over against 
Baal-^ephon. 

Often God seems to place His children in positions 
of profound difficulty — leading them into a wedge 
from which there is no escape; contriving a situation 
which no human judgment would have permitted had 
it been previously consulted. The very cloud con- 
ducts them thither. You may be thus involved at this 
very hour. It does seem perplexing and mysterious 
to the last degree. But it is perfectly right. The 
issue will more than justify Him Who has brought you 
hither. It is a platform for the display of His almighty 
grace and power. He will not only deliver you, but 
in doing so He will give you a lesson that you will 
never forget; and to which, in many a psalm and 
song in after days, you will revert. f. b. meyer, 

24 



Thoughts from My Library 



The pillar of the cloud. ex. 

"It was a cloud and darkness ' to the Egyptians, xlv " 
but "it gave light by night" to Israel. How like the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! Truly that cross has a 
double aspect, likewise. It forms the foundation of 
the believer's peace; and, at the same time, seals the 
condemnation of the guilty world. The self-same 
blood which purges the believer's conscience and 
gives him perfect peace, stains this earth and consum- 
mates its guilt. The very mission of the Son of God 
which strips the world of its cloak, and leaves it 
wholly without excuse, clothes the Church with a fair 
mantle of righteousness, and fills her mouth with 
ceaseless praise. The very same Lamb who will ter- 
rify, by His unmitigated wrath, all tribes and classes 
of earth, will lead, by His gentle hand, His blood- 
bought flock, through the green pastures, and beside 
the still waters forever. c. h. Mcintosh. 

And the angel of God, which went before the camp of ex. 
Israel, removed and went behind them ; and the pil- xiv. 
lar of the cloud went from before their face, and ! 9> 
stood behind them. And it came between the camp 
of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel ; and it was 
a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by 
night to these; so that the one came not near the 
other all the night. 

Jehovah placed himself right between Israel and the 
enemy — this was protection indeed. Before ever Pha- 
raoh could touch a hair of Israel's head, he should 
make his way through the very pavilion of the Al- 
mighty — yea, through the Almighty Himself. Thus it 
is that God ever places Himself between His people 

25 



One Thousand and One 



and every enemy, so that " no weapon formed against 
them can prosper." He has placed Himself between 
us and our sins; and it is our happy privilege to find 
Him between us and every one and everything that 
could be against us. . . . The believer may insti- 
tute a diligent and anxious search for his sins, but he 
cannot find them. Why ? Because God is between 
him and them. He has cast all our sins behind His 
back; while, at the same time, He sheds forth upon us 
the light of His reconciled countenance. 

C. H. McINTOSH. 

ex. // was a cloud and darkness to {the Egyptians) but it 
xiv.20. gave light by night to {Israel). 

The nearer the moon draweth into conjunction with 
the sun, the brighter she shines toward the heavens 
and the earth ; so, the nearer the soul draws into com- 
munion with Jesus Christ, the comdier it is in the eye 
of the Spouse, and the blacker it appears in the sight 
of the world. He that is a precious Christian to the 
Lord is a precious puritan to the world; he that is 
glorious to a heavenly saint is odious to an earthly 
spirit. But it is a sign thou art an Egyptian, when 
that cloud which is a light to an Israelite is darkness to 
thee. It is a sign thou movest in a terrestrial orb, 
when thou seest no lustre in such celestial lights. 

ex. The Lord is my . . . song. 
xv. 2. jYi\s is the fullness and perfection of knowing God — 
so to know Him that He Himself becomes our delight; 
so to know Him that praise is sweetest and fullest and 
freshest and gladdest when we sing of Him. He who 
has learned this blessed secret carries the golden key 

26 



Thoughts from My Library 



of heaven — nay, he hath fetched heaven down to earth, 
and need not envy the angels now. 

MARK GUY PEARSE. 

So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea ; and they EX - 
went out into the wilderness of Shur : and they went XVm 22k 
three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 
It is when we get into wilderness experience, that 
we are put to the test as to the real measure of our 
acquaintance with God, and with our own hearts. 
There is a freshness and an exuberance of joy con- 
nected with the opening of our Christian career, which 
very soon receives a check from the keen blast of the 
desert; and then, unless there is a deep sense of what 
God is to us, above and beyond everything else, we 
are apt to break down, and "in our hearts, turn back 
again into Egypt." The discipline of the wilderness is 
needful, not to furnish us with a title to Canaan, but to 
make us acquainted with God and with our own hearts; 
to enable us to enter into the power of our relation- 
ship, and to enlarge our capacity for the enjoyment of 
Canaan when we actually get there, c. h. Mcintosh. 

They could not drink of the waters of Mar ah, for they ex. 
were Utter. xv - 
Hast thou come, my friend, in thy wilderness way, 
to the place of bitter waters ? Canst thou not drink of 
the stream, even though thy thirst be burning and thy 
strength be wasted ? Know thou, there is a tree the 
leaves of which are for the healing of the nations! A 
tree? Truly so; but a tree as yet without a leaf, — a 
tree bare as the frosts and the winds of the winter can 
make it, — the great, grim, dear, sad, wondrous cross 
of the Son of God! Some have sought to touch the 

27 



One Thousand and One 



wells of life with other trees, but have only aggravated 
the disease which they sought to cure. By the grace of 
heaven, others have been enabled to apply the Cross 
to the bitter wells of their sin and grief, and behold 
the waters have become clear as the crystal river which 
flows fast by the throne of God! Joseph parker. 

ex. The Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast 
xv - 2 5- into the waters, the waters were made sweet. 

Beside each bitter Marah pool there grows a tree, 
which, when cast into the waters, makes them palatable 
and sweet. It is ever so. Poison and antidote, infec- 
tion and cure, pain and medicine, are always close to- 
gether. The word which saves is nigh even in the 
mouth and in the heart. We do not always see the 
" sufficient grace " ; but it is there. Too occupied with 
our disappointment, we have no heart to seek it; but 
when we cry, it is shown to our weary longing eyes. 

F. B. MEYER. 

ex. The Lord hath given you the Sabbath. 
xvi. 29. Through the week, we go down into the valleys of 
care and shadow. Our sabbaths should be hills of 
light and joy in God's presence; and so, as time rolls 
by, we shall go on from mountain-top to mountain- 
top, till at last we catch the glory of the gate, and 
enter in to go no more out forever. beecher. 

The manna . . . was . . . white; and the 

taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 
The manna was . . . as the color of bdellium 
. . . and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh 
oil. — Num. xi. 7, 8. 

How could a soul which has tried again to satisfy 
28 



EX. 

xvi. 31. 



Thoughts from My Library 



itself with Egypt's food, find manna the same thing 
after restoration ? The pure and sweet manna which 
has sustained the virgin soul which has unwaveringly 
followed the guiding pillar, must for the restored soul, 
have its color changed into that of tried gold, and its 
taste to that of healing oil. Nothing else would supply 
its need now. 

Thou shall smite the rock, and there shall come water ex. 

out of it xvii.6. 

This is strange! A rock would seem the last place 
to choose for the storage of water. But God's cup- 
boards are in very unlikely places. Ravens bring food. 
The Prime Minister of Egypt gives corn. Cyrus lets 
go the people of Israel from Babylon. The Jordan 
heals the leper. Meal makes poisoned pottage whole- 
some. Wood makes iron swim. . . . It is worth 
while to go to Rephidim to get an insight into the 
fertility and inventiveness of God's providence. There 
can be no lack to them that fear Him, and no fear of 
lack to those who have become acquainted with His 
secret storehouses. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear 
heard . . . the things which God hath prepared 
for them that love Him; but God hath revealed them 
unto us by His Spirit." f. b. meyer. 

Thou shall have no other gods before me. ex. 

If you find yourself beginning to love any pleasure xx - 3- 
better than your prayers, any book better than the 
Bible, any house better than the House of God, any 
table better than the Lord's table, any person better 
than Christ, or any indulgence better than the Pope of 
Heaven — take alarm. guthrie. 

29 



One Thousand and One 



ex. Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God 
xx. 21. was. 

How wonderfully life loses all fear to the soul that 
has been called apart, alone, into some darkness and 
has found God there. " Morning dawns from His face," 
and what light is like the light that rises upon those 
who touch God's right hand in the darkness and are 
lifted up and strengthened ? g. guinness. 

ex. Take . . . Aaron . . . that he may minister 
xxviii. un to me in the priest's offi.ce. 

l ' And Aaron . . . made . . . a golden calf. 
— Ex. xxxii. 2, 4. 

Do we not see how God's purposes are thwarted and 
deferred by human perversity ? ... At the very 
time when God had determined upon the election and 
consecration of Aaron to the priesthood, Aaron was 
spending his time in moulding and chiselling the 
golden calf. . . . We might have been crowned 
fifty years ago, but just as the coronation was about to 
take place we were discovered in the manufacture of 
an idol. ... The Lord was just ready to make 
kings of us when we made fools of ourselves. 

JOSEPH PARKER. 

ex. Thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron . . . 
xxviii. f or glory and for beauty. 

2 ' Ye are . . . a royal priesthood. — 1 Peter ii. 9. 

And have we no ornaments ? The ornaments of the 
meek and quiet spirit is in the sight of God of great 
price. And have we no garments of blue, and purple, 
and beautiful suggestiveness ? We have garments of 
praise; we are clothed with the Lord Jesus. And have 
we no golden bells ? We have the golden bells of 

30 



Thoughts from My Library 



holy actions. Our words are bells, our actions are 
bells, our purposes are bells; wherever we move our 
motion is thus understood to be a motion toward holy 
places, holy deeds, holy character. Joseph parker. 

Moses . . . went down from the mount. . . .ex. 

As soon as he . . . saw the calf and the danc- xxxn. 

ing . . . Moses' anger waxed hot. 

When you have been sitting in a well-lighted room, 
and are suddenly called into the outer darkness, how 
black it seems; and thus, when a man has dwelt in 
communion with God, sin becomes exceeding sinful, 
and the darkness in which the world lieth appears like 
tenfold night. spurgeon. 



XXXlll. 

14. 



My presence shall go with thee. ex. 

Some of us think and say a good deal about "a 
sense of His presence"; sometimes rejoicing in it, 
sometimes going mourning all the day long because 
we have it not; praying for it, and not always seeming 
to receive what we ask; measuring our own position, 
and sometimes even that of others by it; now on the 
heights, now in the depths about it. And all this 
April-like gleam and gloom instead of steady summer 
glow, because we are turning our attention upon the 
sense of His presence, instead of the changeless reality 

Of it! FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 

Come up in the morning . . . and present thyself ex. 
unto me in the top of the mount. xxxiv, 
God wishes me to be alone with Him. How sol- 
emn will the meeting be! Father and child; Sover- 
eign and subject; Creator and creature! The distance 
between us will be infinite, unless He shorten it by 

3i 



One Thousand and One 



His mercy! Oh! my poor broken and weary heart, 
think of it and be glad; God wants thee to meet Him 
alone! He will heal thy wounds; He will shed His 
light upon thy tears, and make them shine like jewels; 
He will make thee young again. Oh that I might be 
on the mountain first, and that praise might be waiting 
for God! I will be astir before the sun; I will be far 
on the road before the dew rises; and l^ng before the 
bird sings will I breathe my sweet hymn. Oh, dark 
night, flee fast, for I would see God and hear still 
more of His deep truth! Oh! ye stars, why stay so 
long ? Ye are the seals of night, but it is for other 
light I pine, the light that shows the way to the Mount 
of God. My Father, I am coming; nothing on the 
mean plain shall keep me away from the holy heights: 
help me to climb fast, and keep Thou my foot, lest 
it fall upon the hard rock. At Thy bidding I come, 
so Thou wilt not mock my heart. Bring with Thee 
honey from heaven, yea, milk and wine, and oil for 
my soul's good, and stay the sun in his course, or the 
time will be too short in which to look upon Thy face, 
and to hear Thy gentle voice. Morning on the mount! 
It will make me strong and glad all the rest of the day 
so well begun ! Joseph parker. 

The morning is the time fixed for my meeting the 
Lord. What meaning there is in the time as well as 
in the place! This very word morning is as a cluster 
of rich grapes. Let me crush them and drink the 
sacred wine. In the morning — then God means me 
to be at my best in strength and hope; I have not to 
climb in my weakness; in the night I have buried 
yesterday's fatigue, and in the morning I take a new 
lease of energy. Give God thy strength — all thy 

32 



Thoughts from My Library 



strength; He asks only what He first gave. In the 
morning — then He may mean to keep me long that He 
may make me rich! In the morning — then it is no 
endless road He bids me climb, else how could I reach 
it ere the sun be set? Sweet morning! There is 
hope in its music. 

Blessed is the day whose morning is sanctified. 
Successful is the day whose first victory was won by 
prayer. Holy is the day whose dawn finds thee on 
the top of the mount! Health is established in the 
morning. Wealth is won in the morning. The light 
is brightest in the morning. "Wake psaltery and 
harp, I myself will awake early." Joseph parker. 

Moses wist not that . . . his face shone ex. 

I charge you, be clothed with humility, or you will xxxiv. 
yet be a wandering star, for whom is reserved the 2 9- 
blackness of darkness forever. Let Christ increase, 
let man decrease. Remember, " Moses wist not that 
the skin of his face shone." Looking at our own 
shining face is the bane of the spiritual life, and of the 
ministry. Oh for closest communion with God, till 
soul and body, head and heart, shine with divine 
brilliancy! But oh for a holy ignorance of their 
shining! m'cheyne. 

The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar : it shall lev. 

never go out. vi. 13. 

As the fire never went out on the altar of burnt- 
offering, so Christians ought to be continually en- 
gaged in the service of God. cawdray. 

The Urim (light) and the Thummim (perfection). LEV . 
What the Urim and the Thummim actually were no vin - & 
33 



One Thousand and One 



man has been able to find out. But whatever they 
were, there can be no doubt as to what our Urim and 
Thummim are. We are not left without light and 
perfection. . . . Our Urim and Thummim are the 
Old and New Testaments. Keep these in the heart; 
be at home with them in all their wondrous variety of 
speech, of doctrine, of song, of inspiration, and of in- 
struction of every kind; and then you never can stray 
far from the path providential that makes its own 
course straight up to the God who started the mys- 
terious Outgoing. JOSEPH PARKER. 

lev. That ye may put difference between holy and unholy, 

x. io. and between unclean and clean. 

A holy calling will never save an unholy man. 

ryle. 

lev. Ye shall be holy, for I am holy. 

xi. 44. p r0V e your godliness by your Godlikeness. 

PUNSHON. 

lev. Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts 
XX11L of the Lord. 



44. 



The feasts of the Lord. This was their true char- 
acter, their original title; but in the Gospel of John, 
they are called "feasts of the Jews." They had long 
ceased to be Jehovah's feasts. He was shut out. 
They did not want Him; and hence, in John vii., 
when Jesus was asked to go up to "the Jews' feast of 
tabernacles" He answered, "My time is not yet 
come"; and when He did go up it was "privately," 
to take His place outside of the whole thing, and to 
call upon every thirsty soul to come unto Him and 
drink. There is a solemn lesson in this. Divine in- 

34 



Thoughts from My Library 



stitutions are speedily marred in the hands of man; 
but, oh ! how deeply blessed to know that the thirsty 
soul that feels the barrenness and drought connected 
with a scene of empty religious formality, has only to 
flee to Jesus and drink freely of His exhaustless 
springs, and so become a channel of blessing to 
others. c. h. Mcintosh. 

The consecration of His God is upon his head. num. 

Consecration is going out into the world where God y i- 7- 
Almighty is, and using every power for His glory. 

At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel num. 
journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord * x - >8. 
they pitched. 

This is the secret of peace and calm elevation. If an 
Israelite in the desert, had taken it into his head to 
make some movement, independent of Jehovah; if he 
took it upon him to move when the cloud was at rest, 
or to halt while the cloud was moving, we can easily 
see what the result would have been. And so it will 
ever be with us. If we move when we ought to rest, 
or rest when we ought to move, we shall not have the 
divine presence with us. " At the commandment of 
the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the command- 
ment of the Lord they journeyed." They were kept in 
constant waiting upon God, the most blessed position 
that any one can occupy; but it must be occupied ere its 
blessedness can be tasted. It is a reality to be known, 
not a mere theory to be talked of. May it be ours to 
prove it all our journey through! c. h. Mcintosh. 

Trumpets of silver . . . for the calling of the num. 

assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. x - 2 - 
The silver trumpet ordered and settled every move- 
55 



One Thousand and One 



ment for Israel of old. The testimony of God ought 
to settle and order everything for the Church now. A 
Christian has no right to move or act apart from divine 
testimony. He must wait upon the word of his Lord. 
Till he gets that he must stand still. When he has got 
it he must go forward. God can and does communi- 
cate His mind to His militant people now, just as dis- 
tinctly as He did to His people of old. True, it is not 
by the sound of a trumpet, or the movement of a 
cloud, but by His Word and Spirit. It is not by aught 
that strikes the senses that our Father guides us, but 
by that which acts in the heart, the conscience and the 
understanding. c. h. Mcintosh. 

num. And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the 

x i- 9- manna fell upon it. 

The manna was so pure and delicate that it could 
not bear contact with earth. It fell upon the dew, and 
had to be gathered ere the sun was up. Each one, 
therefore, had to rise early and seek his daily portion. 
So it is with the people of God now. The heavenly 
manna must be gathered fresh every morning. Yester- 
day's manna will not do for to-day, or to-day's for to- 
morrow. We must feed upon Christ every day, with 
fresh energy of the spirit, else we shall cease to grow. 
Moreover, we must make Christ our primary object. 
We must seek Him "early." c. h. Mcintosh. 

num. / am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is 

L ! 4- too heavy for me. 

It is most needful for all servants of Christ to re- 
member, that whenever the Lord places a man in a 
position of responsibility, He will both fit him for it 
and maintain him in it. It is, of course, another thing 

3 6 



Thoughts from My Library 



altogether if a man will rush unsent into any field of 
work, or any post of difficulty or danger. In such a 
case, we may assuredly look for a thorough break 
down, sooner or later. But when God calls a man to 
a certain position, He will endow him with the needed 
grace to occupy it. He never sends any one a warfare 
at his own charges; and therefore all we have to do is 
to draw upon Him for all we need. This holds good in 
every case. We can never fail if we only cling to the 
living God. We can never run dry, if we are drawing 
from the fountain. Our tiny springs will soon dry up; 
but our Lord Jesus Christ declares that, " He that be- 
lieveth in me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly 
shall flow rivers of living water." c. h. Mcintosh. 

We saw the giants, . . . and we were in our own num. 

sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight, xiii.33. 

The ten spies differed from Caleb and Joshua in their 
report of the land of Canaan. There are three words 
here beginning with G — the word "God," the word 
"giant," and the word "grasshopper." Now, note, 
these spies made a great mistake as to the position of 
these three words; they compared themselves with the 
people of the land and said, "And in their sight we 
were as grasshoppers." If they had compared the 
people of the land with God, they would have come 
back, as Caleb and Joshua did, who said in effect, 
"We have compared the giants with God, and the 
giants are as grasshoppers." f. b. meyer. 

The daughters of Zelophehad speak right. num. 

They always do so. Their words are words of XXV1L 
faith, and, as such, are always right in the judgment ^' 
of God. It is a terrible thing to limit "the Holy One 

37 



One Thousand and One 



of Israel." He delights to be trusted and used. It is 
utterly impossible for faith to overdraw its account in 
God's bank. God could no more disappoint faith than 
He could deny Himself. He can never say to faith, 
"You have miscalculated; you take too lofty, — too 
bold a stand; go lower down, and lessen your expec- 
tations." Ah! no; the only thing in all this world 
that truly delights and refreshes the heart of God is the 
faith that can simply trust Him; and we may rest as- 
sured of this, that the faith that can trust Him is also 
the faith that can love Him, and serve Him, and praise 
Him. C. H. MdNTOSH. 

Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and 
unto the judgments which I teach you, for to do them, 
that ye may live, and go in and possess the land 
which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. 
"Hearken" and "do," that ye may "live" and " pos- 
sess." This is a universal and abiding principle. It 
was true for Israel and it is true for us. The pathway 
of life and the true secret of possession is simple obe- 
dience to the holy commandments of God. We see 
this all through the inspired volume, from cover to 
cover. God has given us His Word, not to speculate 
upon it or discuss it, but that we may obey it. And it 
is as we, through grace, yield a hearty and happy obe- 
dience to our Father's statutes and judgments, that 
we tread the bright pathway of life, and enter into the 
reality of all that God has treasured up for us in Christ. 
" He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, 
he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be 
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will 
manifest myself to him." c. h. Mcintosh. 

38 



Thoughts from My Library 



Observe and hear all these words which I command deut. 

thee, that it may go well with thee. xn - 2 %- 
The constitution of man and the law of God are 

fitted into each other like lock and key. arnot. 

The Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye deut. 
love the Lord your God with all your heart and with x ^ 1 - 3- 
all your soul. 

We may observe in this the difference between 
Christ and the Tempter. Christ hath His fan in His 
hand, and He fanneth us: the Devil has a sieve in his 
hand, and he sifteth us. Now, a fan casteth out the 
worst, and keepeth in the best; a sieve keepeth in the 
worst, and casteth out the best. So Christ and His 
trials purgeth chaff and corruption out of us, and 
nourisheth His graces in us. Contrariwise, the Devil, 
what evil soever is in us, he confirmeth it: what faith 
or good thing soever, he weakeneth it. trapp. 

Ye are the children of the Lord your God. deut. 

A child of God should be a visible beatitude, for joy xlv ' lm 
and happiness, and a living Doxology for gratitude and 
adoration. spurgeon. 

As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so deut. 
to do. xviii. 

We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice 
for our spiritual mercies positive ; but what an almost 
infinite field there is for mercies negative! We cannot 
even imagine all that God has suffered us not to do, 
not to be. Frances ridley havergal. 

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God. deut. 



Be not curious to search into the secrets of God; 

39 



XXIX. 

29. 



One Thousand and One 



pick not the lock where He hath allowed no key. He 
that will be sifting every cloud may be smitten with a 
thunderbolt; and he that will be too familiar with 
God's secrets may be overwhelmed in his judgments. 
Adam would curiously increase his knowledge; there- 
fore Adam shamefully lost his goodness: the Bethshe- 
mites would needs pry into the ark of God ; therefore 
the hand of God slew about fifty thousand of them. 
Therefore hover not about this flame, lest we scorch 
our wings. For my part, seeing God hath made me 
His secretary, I will carefully improve myself by what 
He has revealed, and not curiously inquire into or after 
what He hath reserved. adams. 



deut. Moses made an end of speaking. 

xxxn. g 0 we a jj sha jj £ 0 some ( j a y < Moses knew it was 
45" the end for him; we may not know when our end is 
at hand. Any word of ours, spoken amid glee and 
merriment, may be our last. If we always thought of 
this would it not make us more careful ? Would we 
ever say an unkind word to a friend, if we felt that 
we may never have an opportunity to unsay it or 
atone for it? Would we ever utter an angry, untrue, 
* or unclean word, if we only remembered that it may 
be the last utterance our lips shall give forth? We 
want to have beautiful endings to our life, to leave 
sweet memories behind us in the hearts of those who 
love us. We want our names to be fragrant in the 
homes on whose thresholds our footfalls are wont to 
be heard. We want the memory of our last words in 
our friends' ears to live as a tender joy with them as 
the days pass away. We can be sure of all this only 
by making every word we speak beautiful enough to 

40 



Thoughts from My Library 



be our last word. For with any sentence we may 
come to the end of our speaking. j. r. miller. 

The beloved of the Lord. deut. 

Who is the beloved of the Lord ? It is one who be- xxxn 

i ' 

lieves in the love that God has toward him. 
Peter had a great idea of his own love to Christ; 
" though all men forsake thee, yet will I not forsake 
thee" ; but John was content to speak of himself as 
the beloved of the Lord. "O Daniel, greatly be- 
loved," said the angel to that man of God. . . . 
Do you hesitate to class yourself with Daniel and 
John ? Tell me, is there any greater expression of the 
love of God, than was given in the surrender of His 
Son to Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Calvary ? Did 
Daniel or John ever receive any more affecting love 
token than this ? Be only bold enough to know the love 
that was expressed when Christ tasted death for you, 
and you may without hesitation sit down beneath the 
same tree with Daniel and John, and expect them to 
listen while you speak of the Crucified One. 

bowen. 

Thy shoes shall be iron and brass ; and as thy days so 
shall thy strength be. 

Each of us may be sure that if God sends us on 
stony paths He will provide us with strong shoes, and 
will not send us out on any journey for which He does 
not equip us well. alex. McLaren. 

As thy days so shall thy strength be. 

Watch your way, as a cautious traveller; and don't 
be gazing at that mountain or river in the distance, and 
saying: " How shall I ever get over them ?" but keep 

4i 



DEUT. 

xxxiii. 

25. 



DEUT. 

xxxiii. 
25. 



One Thousand and One 



to the present little inch that is before you, and ac- 
complish that in the little moment that belongs to it. 
The mountain and the river can only be passed in the 
same way; and when you come to them, you will 
come to the light and strength that belong to them. 

M. A. KELTY. 

deut. As thy days so shall thy strength be. 
xxxiii. / can fi 0 a n things through Christ which strengtheneth 
2 5* me. — Phil. iv. ij. 

He will not impose upon you one needless burden; 
He will not exact more than He knows your strength 
will bear; He will ask no Peter to come to Him on the 
water, unless He impart at the same time strength and 
support on the unstable wave; He will not ask you to 
draw water if the well is too deep, or withdraw the 
stone if too heavy. But neither at the same time will 
He admit as an impossibility that which, as a free and 
responsible agent, it is in your power to avert. He will 
not regard as your misfortune what is your crime. 

MACDUFF. 

deut. The eternal God. 

xxxin. Time is the age of the visible world; but eternity is 
2 7' the age of God. Christmas evans. 

deut. The eternal God is thy refuge. 

xxxin. q oc j j s a p er p e t U al refuge and security to His people. 
2 7' His providence is not confined to one generation; it is 
not one age only that tastes of His bounty and com- 
passion. His eye never yet slept, nor hath He suffered 
the little ship of His church to be swallowed up, though 
it hath been tossed upon the waves; He hath always 
been a haven to preserve us, a house to secure us; He 
hath always had compassion to pity us, and power to 

42 



Thoughts from My Library- 



protect us; He hath had a face to shine, when the 
world hath had an angry countenance to frown. He 
brought Enoch home by an extraordinary translation 
from a brutish world; and when He was resolved to 
reckon with men for their brutish lives, He lodged 
Noah, the phoenix of the world, in an ark, and kept 
him alive as a spark in the midst of many waters, 
whereby to rekindle a church in the world; in all gen- 
erations He is a dwelling-place to secure His people 
here or entertain them above. charnock. 

Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he deut. 
died. xxxiv. 

Moses' life consisted of one hundred and twenty ^' 
years, divided into three forties. 

In the first forty years, he was learning to be some- 
body. 

In the second forty years, he was learning to be no- 
body. 

In the third forty years, he was proving what God 
could do with a man who had learned those two les- 
sons. 

Arise, go over this Jordan. josh. 

The supreme enquiry for each of us, when sum- L 2 - 
moned to a new work, is — not whether we possess 
sufficient strength or qualification for it, but — if we 
have been called to it of God; and when that is so, 
there is no further cause for anxiety. — If it is in His 
plan that we should march through a river, or attack a 
walled town, or turn to flight an army, we have simply 
to go forward. He will make the mountains a way. 
Rivers will dry up; walls will fall down; armies shall 
be scattered as snow in Salmon. There is no such 

43 



One Thousand and One 



thing as impossibility when God says, " Forward, 
soul; arise, go over this Jordan! " f. b. meyer. 

josh. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, 
L 3- that have I given unto you. 

But though this was so, each square mile of it had to 
be claimed from the hand of the peoples that possessed 
it. " The soul of the foot " had to be put down to claim 
and take. The cities were theirs, but they must enter 
them ; the houses which they had not built were theirs, 
but they must inhabit them. The cornfields in the rich 
vales, and vineyards on the terraced slopes were theirs, 
but they must possess them. It is not difficult for us 
to realize these things, for spiritually we occupy a pre- 
cisely similar position. God our Father hath blessed 
us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus; but they 
are not ours to enjoy, until we have claimed and ap- 
propriated them by a living faith. They are only ours 
as we avail ourselves of them. Hence the need to "be 
strong and very courageous." f. b. meyer. 

josh. Only be thou strong and very courageous. 
lm 7' Man is larger and stronger than his environment. 
No burden was ever heavy enough to crush manhood 
out. No sorrow was ever greater than the heart can 
bear. God never made a coward, nor has He any- 
where held up as a model a nature that would break 
under sorrow. The whole Book of Job centres around 
this single test: that no affliction or evil could crush 
him. Man is not a worm to be trodden down, but a 
child of God. He is made to have dominion, to put all 
things under his feet. The agonies of Gethsemane may 
fall with frightful weight, but they cannot crush him. 
The cross will hurt, but cannot harm. d. o. mears. 

44 



Thoughts from My Library 



This line of scarlet thread. josh. 

In the British navy there is a scarlet thread running **• 
through every line of cordage, and though a rope be 
cut into inch pieces, it can be recognized as belonging 
to the government. So is there a scarlet thread run- 
ning all through the Bible — the whole book points to 
Christ. In the promise made to Adam appears, as it 
were, the first twig of the tree. Twig after twig is 
added, till we can count not only 200 direct promises 
of the Messiah, but 1,^00, direct and indirect. Then 
as history comes to fulfill these predictions, each little 
twig in turn is set on fire, yet not consumed, till 
finally the whole tree becomes a great burning bush, 
and we take off our shoes and stand in awe, for it is 
holy ground. a. t. pierson. 

As ... the feet of the priests that bare the ark josh. 
were dipped in the brim of the water . . . the 1 5> 
waters . . . rose up . . . and were cut off ; 1 ^ 
and the people passed over right against Jericho. 
Keep in fellowship with the Apostle and High 
Priest of your profession. Consider Him. Look 
away from all else to Him. Follow Him. It may 
seem as if He is leading thee into certain destruction; 
but it shall not be so. When thou comest to the 
dreaded difficulty, be it what it may, thou wilt find 
that because His feet have been dipped in its brink, it 
has dwindled in its flow. Its roar is hushed; its waters 
are shrunken; its violence is gone. The iron gate 
stands open. The stone is rolled away from the sep- 
ulchre. The river-bed is dry. Jericho is within reach. 
" They passed over right against Jericho." 

F. B. MEYER. 

45 



One Thousand and One 



josh. They fled before the men of Ai. 

The defeats that we incur in the Land of Promise 
are not necessary. They are due entirely to some fail- 
ure in ourselves, and they cause grief to the immortal 
Lover of our souls. There is no reason for defeat in 
the Christian life; always and everywhere we are 
meant to be more than conquerors. The course of the 
Christian warrior should be as the sun when he goeth 
forth in his strength, and in regular gradients drives 
his chariot from the eastern wave up the steep of 
heaven. Child of God, never lay the blame of thy 
failure on God; seek for it within! f. b. meyer. 

Thou canst not stand before thine enemies until ye take 
away the accursed thing from among you. 
No rush to battle atones for sin in the tent. 

G. CAMPBELL MORGAN. 

josh. One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord 
xxm. y 0Ur Q 0 d ) jj e it is that fighteth for you, as he hath 
I0 * promised you. 

If God fought for victory He need never fight; He 
fights that He may teach. Joseph parker. 

josh. Choose you this day whom ye will serve. 

XX J^' Choice and Service — these were demanded of the 

Israelites, these are demanded of you, these only. 

Choice and service — in these are the whole of life. 

MARK HOPKINS. 

judg. Curse ye Mero%, said the angel of the Lord ; curse ye 
v - 2 3' bitterly the inhabitants thereof ; because they came 

not to the help of the Lord . . . against the 

mighty. 

" Curse ye Meroz. By whose authority ? The angel 



JOSH. 

vii. 13. 



Thoughts from My Library 



of the Lord's. What has Meroz done? Nothing. 
Why then is Meroz to be cursed ? Because he did 
nothing. What ought Meroz to have done? Come 
to the help of the Lord. Could not the Lord do with- 
out Meroz ? The Lord did do without Meroz. Did 
the Lord sustain, then, any loss ? No, but Meroz did. 
Is Meroz then to be cursed ? Yes, and that bitterly. 
Is it right that a man should be cursed for doing noth- 
ing ? Yes, when he ought to do something. Who 
says so ? The angel of the Lord. ' That servant which 
knew his Lord's will, and did it not, shall be beaten 
with many stripes.' " 

Bring them down unto the water, and I will try them judg. 

for thee there. vii. 4. 

The way the men drank water from the brook was 
the test of their fitness for the work of conquering the 
Midianites. It seemed to make the smallest difference 
in the world whether a soldier drank by bowing down 
with his face in the water, or by lapping up the water 
with his hand as he stood; yet it was a difference 
that settled the question of fitness or unfitness for the 
great work before the army. It is in just such little 
ways, and in such matters of everyday and common- 
place action, conduct, and manner, that God is always 
testing us and deciding whether we are fit or unfit for 
the greater work for which He is seeking men. . 
. . We cannot know what future honor may de- 
pend on the way we do the simplest, most common- 
place thing to-day. j. r. miller. 

{Hannah) . . . prayed unto the Lord, and wept 1 sam. 
sore . . . she spake in her heart. l - IO > 

For real business at the mercy-seat give me a home- 
47 



One Thousand and One 



made prayer, a prayer that comes out of the depths of 
my heart, not because I invented it, but because God 
the Holy Ghost put it there, and gave it such living 
force that I could not help letting it out. Though 
your words are broken, and your sentences discon- 
nected, if your desires are earnest, if they are like coals 
of juniper, burning with a vehement flame, God will 
not mind how they find expression. If you have no 
words, perhaps you will pray better without them 
than with them. There are prayers that break the 
backs of words; they are too heavy for any human 
language to carry. spurgeon. 

i sam. The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions 
u - 3- are weighed. 

Regard not how full hands, but how pure hands 
you bring to God. taylor. 

God does not measure what we bring to Him. He 
weighs it. mark guy pearse. 



i sam. He bringeth down to the grave. 

^' The grave is the great city. It hath mightier popu- 
lation, longer streets, thicker darknesses than any other. 
Caesar is there, and all his subjects. Nero is there, and 
all his victims. City of kings and paupers! City of 
silence! no voice, no hoof, no wheel, no smiting of 
hammer, no loom, no whisper. Of all its million mil- 
lion hands, not one is ever lifted. Of all its million 
million eyes, not one ever sparkles. Of all its million 
million hearts, not one ever pulsates. talmage. 

i sam. An evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. 
xvi. 14. My peace I give unto you— John xiv. 27. 

Let God once wound a heart, all the world cannot 

48 



Thoughts from My Library 



heal it; but let Christ speak peace to it, all the world 
cannot disturb it. charles bradley. 

There is but a step between me and death. i sam. 

The nearness of heaven is suggested by the epithet xx ' 3' 
"veil." Christians, there is only a veil between us 
and heaven! A veil is the thinnest and frailest of all 
conceivable partitions. It is but a fine tissue, a delicate 
fabric of embroidery. It waves in the wind; the 
touch of a child may stir it, and accident may rend it; 
the silent action of time will moulder it away. The 
veil that conceals heaven is only our embodied exist- 
ence; and, though fearfully and wonderfully made, it is 
only wrought out of our frail mortality. So slight is 
it, that the puncture of a thorn, the touch of an in- 
sect's sting, the breath of an infected atmosphere, may 
make it shake and fall. In a bound, in a moment, in 
the twinkling of an eye, in the throb of a pulse, in the 
flash of a thought, we may start into disembodied 
spirits, glide unabashed into the company of great and 
mighty angels, pass into the light and amazement of 
eternity, know the great secret, gaze upon splendors 
which flesh and blood could not sustain, and which no 
words lawful for man to utter could describe! Breth- 
ren in Christ, there is but a step between you and 
death; between you and heaven there is but a veil! 

C. STANFORD. 

// came to pass in the morning that David wrote a let- n sam. 
ter to Joab. xi - ! 4- 

We sleep: but the loom of life never stops; and 
the pattern which was weaving when the sun went 
down is weaving when it comes up to-morrow. 

BEECHER. 

49 



One Thousand and One 



ii sam. Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my Lord the 

cv - 1 5- king shall appoint. 

If we are really and always and equally ready to do 
whatsoever the king appoints, all the trials and vexa- 
tions, arising from any change in His appointments, 
great or small, simply do not exist. If He appoints 
me to work there, shall I lament that I am not to work 
here ? If He appoints me to wait indoors to-day, am 
I to be annoyed because I am not to work out of 
doors ? If I meant to write His messages this morn- 
ing, shall I grumble because He sends interrupting 
visitors, rich or poor, to whom I am to speak thern, or 
"show kindness" for His sake, or at least obey His 
command "Be courteous"? If all my members are 
really at His disposal, why should I be put out if to- 
day's appointment is some simple work for my hands, 
or errands for my feet, instead of some seemingly 
more important doing of head or tongue ? 

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 

ii sam. The mule that was under him went away. 
xvm. jj le things of this world, like Absalom's mule, run 
9' away and leave us when we have most need of them. 

VENNING. 

ii sam. The Lord was my stay. 
xxn. When I first amused myself with going out to sea, 
! 9' when the winds arose and the waves became a little 
rough I found a difficulty to keep my legs on the deck, 
for I tumbled and tossed about like a porpoise on the 
water. At last I caught hold of a rope that was float- 
ing about, and then I was enabled to stand upright. 
So when in prayer a multitude of troublous thoughts 
invade your peace, or when the winds and waves of 

50 



Thoughts from My Library 



temptation arise, look out for the rope, lay hold of it, 
and stay yourself on the faithfulness of God in His 
covenant with His people and in His promises. Hold 
fast by that rope, and you shall stand. Salter. 

Who is a rock save our God ? n sam. 

God is a rock for a foundation. Build your lives, XX1L 
your thoughts, your efforts, your hopes there. The 
house founded on the rock will stand though wind 
and rain from above smite it, and floods from beneath 
beat on it like battering rams. God is a rock for a 
fortress. Flee to Him to hide, and your defence shall 
be the "munition of rocks," which shall laugh to 
scorn all assault, and never be scorned by any foe. 
God is a rock for shade and refreshment. Come close 
to Him out of the scorching heat, and you will find 
coolness, and verdure and moisture in the clefts, when 
all outside that grateful shadow is parched and dry. 

mclaren. 

Although my house he not so with God ; yet he hath n sam. 

made with me an everlasting covenant. xxiii. 

An old commentator says " There is an ' although ' in 5* 
every man's lot and life." Paul was the mightiest of 
preachers, the noblest of spiritual heroes, but he had 
his "although," for "there was given to" him "a 
thorn in the flesh." Jonah was "exceeding glad of 
the gourd," but a vile insect lurked unseen at its root. 
Ezekiel soared as few prophets did, with bold wing, 
amid the magnificent visions of Providence and Grace, 
but "the desire of" his "eyes" was taken away 
"with a stroke." . . . But the "althoughs" of 
life are generally qualified by some "yet." Listen to 
the psalmist's testimony again. "All thy waves' and 

5i 



One Thousand and One 



thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will 
command His loving kindness in the daytime and in 
the night His song shall be with me." Habbakuk 
mourns over the fig-tree without blossom, vines with- 
ered and fruitless. " Yet," he adds, "will I glory in 
the Lord and rejoice in the God of my salvation." 
And is it not so with all God's true people ? The 
"yets" outbalance and overbalance the " although s." 
The bitter cup has its sweet drops, the dark, night its 
clustering stars of consolation and solace, the "valley 
of Baca " its wells of joy. macduff. 

i kings As my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. 
ii. 38. what God wants is men great enough to be small 
enough to be used. h. webb-peploe. 

1 kings There was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of 
vl - 7- iron, heard in the house while it was in building. 

You know that in Solomon's temple there was no 
sound of hammer heard; for the stones were made 
ready in the quarries, and brought all shaped and 
marked so that the masons might know the exact spot 
in which they were to be placed; so that no sound of 
iron was needed. All the planks and timbers were 
carried to their right places, and all the catches with 
which they were to be linked together were pre- 
pared, so that there might not be even the driving of a 
nail — everything was ready beforehand. It is the 
same with us. When we get to heaven, there will be 
no sanctifying us there, no squaring us with affliction, 
no hammering us with the rod, no making us meet 
there. We must be made meet here; and blessed be 
His name, all that Christ will do beforehand. 

SPURGEON. 

52 



Thoughts from My Library 



Elijah . . . said unto Ahab, As the Lord God i kings 
of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not XV1L l - 
be dew nor rain these years, but according to my 
word. 

Our boldness for God before the world must always 
be the result of individual dealing with God in secret. 
Our victories over self, and sin, and the world, are al- 
ways first fought where no eye sees but God's. . . 
. If there be the daily work going on within us, un- 
seen and unnoticed by any but God Himself, then we 
may depend upon certain victory in our conflicts be- 
fore the world — then may we stand before an Ahab, 
and realize a living God at our side. . . . And if 
we have not these secret conflicts, well may we not 
have any open ones. The outward absence of conflict 
betrays the inward sleep of the soul. whitfield. 

Hide thyself by the brook. 

Not by the river, but by the brook. The river would 
always contain an abundant supply, but the brook 
might dry up at any moment. What does this teach 
us ? God does not place His people in luxuriance 
here. The world's abundance might withdraw their 
affections from Him. He gives them not the river but 
the brook. The brook may be running to-day, to- 
morrow it may be dried up. And wherefore does God 
act thus! To teach us that we are not to rest in His 
gifts and blessings, but in Himself. This is what our 
hearts are always doing — resting in the gift instead of 
the Giver. Therefore God cannot trust us by the river 
for it unconsciously takes up His place in the heart. It 
is said of Israel, that when they were full they forgot 

God. WHITFIELD. 

53 



I KINGS 

xvii. 3. 



One Thousand and One 



I kings So he arose and went to Zarephath. 

Let it be equally said of you to whatever duty the 
Lord may call you away, "He arose and went!" Be 
the way ever so laborious or dangerous, still arise, like 
Elijah, and go. Go cheerfully, in faith, keeping your 
heart quietly dependent on the Lord, and in the end 
you will assuredly behold and sing of His goodness. 
Though tossed on a sea of troubles, you may anchor 
on the firm foundation of God, which standeth sure. 
You have for your security His exceeding great and 
precious promises, and may say with the psalmist, 
" Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art 
thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I 
shall yet praise Him who is the health of my counte- 
nance and my God! " f. w. krummacher. 

i kings The barrel of meat wasted not, neither did the cruse 
x ™- of oil fail 

God never leaves us in His debt. He takes care to 
pay for His entertainment, royally and divinely. He 
uses Peter's fishing smack, and gives it back, nearly 
submerged by the weight of the fish which He had 
driven into the nets. He sits down with His friends 
to a country marriage-feast, and pays for their simple 
fare by jars brimming with water turned to wine. He 
uses the five barley loaves, and two small fishes; but 
He fills the lad with an ample meal. He sends His 
prophet to lodge with a widow, and provides meal and 
oil for him and her for many days. f. b. meyer. 

i kings Ahab said unto {Elijah) Art thou he that troubleth 
xvin. Israel} And he answered, I have not troubled 
l '' 1 ' Israel; but thou and thy father's house. 

A minister without boldness is like a smooth file, a 
54 



Thoughts from My Library 



knife without an edge, a sentinel that is afraid to let 
off his gun. If men will be bold in sin, ministers must 
be bold to reprove. gurnall. 

Fill four barrels with water and pour it on the burnt i kings 
sacrifice and on the wood. xvin. 
Few of us have faith like this! We are not so sure 
of God that we dare to pile difficulties in His way. 
We all try our best to make it easy for Him to help 
us. Yet what Elijah had, we too may have, by prayer 
and fasting. f. b. meyer. 



33- 



Elijah . . . cast himself down upon the earth, 1 kings 

and put his face between his knees. xvm - 
The man who is to take a high place before his fel- 

lows must take a low place before his God. 

F. B. MEYER. 

The men who stand straightest in the presence of 
sin bow lowest in the presence of God. 

F. B. MEYER. 

Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; and he cast him- 1 kings 
self doivn upon the earth, and put his face between xvlll v 
his knees. . . . And the hand of the Lord was 4 
on Elijah : and he girded up his loins, and ran be- 
fore Ahab to the entrance of Je^reel. 
In driving piles, a machine is used by which a huge 
weight is lifted up and then made to fall upon the 
head of the pile. Of course the higher the weight is 
lifted the more powerful is the blow which it gives 
when it descends. Now, if we would tell upon our 
age and come down upon society with ponderous 
blows, we must see to it that we are uplifted as near 
to God as possible. All our power will depend upon 

55 



One Thousand and One 



the elevation of our spirits. Prayer, meditation, devo- 
tion, communion, are like a windlass to wind us up 
aloft: it is not lost time which we spend in such 
sacred exercises, for we are thus accumulating force, 
so that when we come down to our actual labor for 
God, we shall descend with an energy unknown to 
those to whom communion is unknown. 

SPURGEON. 

i kings He arose and went for his life. 

xix. 3. Anoint . . . Elisha . . .- to be prophet in thy 
room. — / Kings xix. 15, 16. 

What might have been! If only Elijah had held his 
ground he might have saved his country, and there 
would have been no necessity for the captivity and 
dispersion of his people. The seven thousand secret 
disciples would have dared to come forth from their 
hiding-places and avow themselves, and would have 
constituted a nucleus of loyal hearts by whom Baal 
had been replaced by Jehovah. . . . Elijah's in- 
fluence in Israel never recovered from that one false 
step. He missed a chance which never came again. 
And though God in His mercy treated him lovingly and 
royally as a child, He never again reinstated him as a 
servant in just the same position which he so thought- 
lessly flung away. It is a solemn thought for us all. 
As children, we may be forgiven; as servants, we 
may never be reinstated or trusted quite as we were 
once. ... As children, God will never cast us 
away; but as His servants He may, employing us only 
in some humble ministry, or to anoint our successors. 
. . . Others shall finish our uncompleted task. 

F. B. MEYER. 

56 



Thoughts from My Library 



He lay and slept under a juniper tree. i kings 

Even in the midst of the desert our gracious God is xlx ' 5" 
able to provide for us a place of repose; the storm 
does not rage incessantly; peaceful hours intervene 
unawares, and the burden upon our shoulders be- 
comes for a while a resting pillow to our heads, upon 
which we insensibly gather recruited strength. . . . 
The very days of storm and tempest have their hours 
of repose and mercy. Therefore let no one be anx- 
ious, however steep and thorny his path, however 
rough and dreary his road. When the weary knees 
are ready to sink, God will know how to provide him 
a resting-place, and he shall be able to say, " I laid me 
down and slept; I awaked, for the Lord sustained me." 
And although these may be only short pauses; still 
they remind us how easily He could, if He pleased, at 
any moment, deliver us out of every trouble. And a 
believing assurance of this is sufficient to overcome 
every anxiety and fear. f. w. krummacher. 

What doest thou here, Elijah ? i kings 

The wanderer was alone, yet not alone. A voice he X1X - 9- 
could neither mistake nor misinterpret had sounded in 
his ears the thrilling question, "What doest thou here, 
Elijah?" Every syllable was pregnant with meaning 
and rebuke. ''What doest thou here?" Life (and 
none should know better than thee) is a great doing; 
not hermit inaction, inglorious repose. "What doest 
thou " — thou, my viceregent in these degenerate days 
— thou whom I have honored above thy fellows, and 
who hast had proof upon proof of my faithfulness ? 
"What doest thou here" — here in this desolate spot; 
away from duty; the Baal altars rebuilding; my own 

57 



One Thousand and One 



altar in ruins; the sword of persecution unsheathed, 
and the bleating flock left by thee, coward, shepherd, to 
the ravening wolf ? " What doest thou here, Elijah ?" 
Thy very name rebukes thee! Where is God, thy 
strength! Where are the prayers and vows of Car- 
mel ? Child of weakness, belying thy name and des- 
tiny, "What — doest — thou — here} 1 ' macduff. 

i kings Elisha . . . was plowing . . . and Elijah 
Xlx - 1 9- passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 

The more God empties your hands from other work, 
the more you may know that He has special work to 
give them. e. h. garrett. 

ii kings Behold, . . . a chariot of fire, and horses of fire. 
n - 11 • It was in a chariot of fire Elijah was taken to heaven. 

Is it not in a similar chariot, in a figurative sense, God 
takes many of His people still ? He brings them, as 
He did Elijah, to the brink of Jordan ; keeps them for 
years hovering amid the rough, rugged glens and 
gorges of trial; seats them in a flaming equipage; reins 
in the fiery horses until, in the fire, they are refined 
and purified as gold, and fitted for their radiant crowns. 
. . . It is the chariot of fire. As God's loved ones 
enter it, He whispers in their ear, ''Through much 
tribulation ye shall enter into the kingdom." 

MACDUFF. 

ii kings Go and wash in Jordan seven times. 

The waters of God's blessings flow downward, and 
he who would drink them must stoop, a. c. dixon. 

As the Lord liveth, before whom I stand. 

Here is our defence against being led away by the 
gauds and shows of earth's vulgar attractions, or being 

58 



II KINGS 
V. 16. 



Thoughts from My Library 



terrified by the poor terrors of its enmity. Go with 
this talisman in your hand, "The Lord liveth before 
whom I stand," and everything else dwindles down 
into nothingness, and you are a free man, master and 
lord of all things, because you are God's servant, see- 
ing all things aright, because you see them all in God, 
and God in them all. McLaren. 

Elisha prayed . . . and, behold, the mountain was 11 kings 
full of horses and chariots of fire. VL 1 7- 

The Christian on his knees sees more than the phi- 
losopher on tiptoe. 

When the man was let down and touched the bones of n kings 
Elisha, he revived, and stood up on Ms feet. xiii.21. 
When men thought him dead, one of Elisha's bones 
was worth a whole army of ordinary men. So, if we 
live with God, and for God, we, too, shall possess a 
deathless influence, and a spiritual immortality. Our 
lives will not cease with our funerals, but when men 
are saying, "He is dead" here, voices shall be calling 
yonder, " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, 
for they rest from their labors, and their works do 
follow them." 

A daily rate for every day. n kings 

The acts of breathing which I performed yesterday xxv - 
will not keep me alive to-day: I must continue to 3° m 
breathe afresh every moment, or animal life ceases. 
In like manner, yesterday's grace and spiritual strength 
must be renewed, and the Holy Spirit must continue 
to breathe on my soul from moment to moment, in 
order to my enjoying the consolations, and to my 
working the works, of God. toplady. 

59 



/ 

One Thousand and One 

i ch. These were the potters, and those that dwelt among 
iv. 23. plants and hedges ; there they dwelt with the king 
for his work. 

Anywhere and everywhere we may dwell "with 
the King for His work." We may be in a very un- 
likely or unfavorable place for this; it may be in a lit- 
eral country life, with little enough to be seen of the 
"goings" of the King around us; it may be among 
hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all directions; it may 
be, furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of 
pottery for our daily task. No matter! The King who 
placed us "there" will come and dwell there with us; 
the hedges are all right, or He would soon do away 
with them; and it does not follow that what seems to 
hinder our way may not be for its very protection; 
and as for the pottery, why, that is just exactly what 
He has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it 
is, for the present, " His work." 

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 

i ch. / took thee from the sheepcote . . . that thou 
xy h. 7- shouldest be ruler over my people Israel. 

David was keeping sheep in the wilderness with no 
eye upon him but God's. In prompt obedience to his 
father, he went to the valley of Elah, taking loaves and 
cheeses to his brethren : if we are content to serve God 
in mean things, God will bring us forth in greater. In 
the valley of Elah was Goliath ready for David's sling. 

1 ch. David . . . said . . . I have prepared . . . ( 
xxix. 2. f or the house of my God. 

Then spake Solomon . . . I have built an house for 
the . . . Lord God of Israel. — / Kings viii. 12,20. 
We should so live and labor in our time that what 
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Thoughts from My Library 



came to us as seed, may go to the next generation as 
blossom, and what came to us as blossom, may go to 
them as fruit. 

We rest on thee. n ch. 

The ship that is anchored is sensitive to every change Xlv - 1 
of wind or tide, and ever turns sharply around to meet 
and resist the stream, from what direction soever it 
may flow. A ship is safest with her head to the sea 
and the tempest. In great storms the safety of all 
often depends on the skill with which the sailors can 
keep her head to the rolling breakers. Life and death 
have sometimes hung for a day and a night in the bal- 
ance, whether the weary steersman could keep her head 
to the storm until the storm should cease. Even a single 
wave allowed to strike her on the broadside might 
send all to the bottom. But to keep the ship in the 
attitude of safety, there is no effort and no art equal to 
the anchor. As soon as the anchor feels the ground, 
the vessel that had been drifting broadside, is brought 
up, and turns to the waves a sharp prow that cleaves 
them in two and sends them harmless along the sides. 
Watch from a height any group of ships that may be 
lying in an open roadstead. At night when you retire 
they all point westward ; in the morning they are all 
looking to the east. Each ship has infallibly felt the 
first veering of the wind or water, and instantly veered 
in the requisite direction, so that neither wind nor 
wave has ever been able to strike her on the broad- 
side. Thereby hangs the safety of the ship. Ships 
not at anchor do not turn and face the foe. The ship 
that is left loose will be caught by a gust on her side, 
and easily thrown over. As with ships, so with souls, 

ARNOT. 

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One Thousand and One 



ii ch. The workmen wrought and the work was perfected by 

xx * v - them. 

The life tabernacle is a wondrous building; there is 
room for workers of all kinds in the uprearing of its 
mysterious and glorious walls. If we cannot do the 
greatest work, we may do the least; our heaven will 
come out of the realization of the fact that it was 
God's tabernacle we were building, and under God's 
blessing that we were working. joseph parker. 



ii ch. When he zvas in affliction, he besought the Lord his 
xxxin. Q 0( } m _ _ anc i ne was en treated of him, and 
1 heard his supplication. 

Have you ever noticed the great clock of St. Paul's ? 
At midday, in the roar of business, how few hear it 
but those who are close to it! But when the work of 
the day is over, and silence reigns in London, then it 
may be heard for miles around. That is just like the 
conscience of an impenitent man. While in health 
and strength, he will not hear it; but the day will come 
when he must retire from the world, and look death 
in the face; and then the clock of conscience — the 
solemn clock — will sound in his ears, and, if he has not 
repented, will bring wretchedness and misery to his 
soul. RYLE. 

ii ch. The men did the work faithfully. 
XXX ! ~' cann °t set the world right, or the times, but 

you can do something for the truth; and all you can 
do will certainly tell if the work you do is for the 
Master, Who gives you your share, and so the burden 
of responsibility is lifted off. This assurance makes 
peace, satisfaction, and repose possible even in the 
partial work done upon earth. Go to the man who is 

62 



12. 



Thoughts from My Library 



carving a stone for a building; ask him where is that 
stone going, to what part of the temple, and how is 
he going to get it into place, and what does he do ? 
He points you to the builder's plans. This is only one 
stone of many. So, when men shall ask where and 
how is your little achievement going into God's plan, 
point them to your Master, Who keeps the plans, and 
then go on doing your little service as faithfully as if 
the whole temple were yours to build. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

The king said unto me, For what dost thou make re- neh. 
quest? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I ii- 4> 5* 
said unto the king . . . 

Ejaculatory prayer has this advantage — it flies up to 
heaven before the devil can get a shot at it. 

ROWLAND HILL. 

We made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch. NEH# 
Don't wait for some work to turn up but go and iv. 9. 
turn up some work. You may work without praying 
but you can't pray without working. 

HUDSON TAYLOR. 

So did not I, because of the fear of God. NEH> 

Doubtful amusements are like doubtful eggs — so v. 15. 
likely to be bad that it is safest to let them alone. 

The joy of the Lord is your strength. NEH> 

The mass of Christians make a little dark world of viii. 10. 
their own, and live there. They build the walls of 
their houses out of their troubles and sorrows. They 
put stained glass in their windows. They keep the 
doors locked. It is all dark about them. No sunshine 
comes into their chambers, and no fire burns on the 

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One Thousand and One 



hearth. They have no pictures on their walls but the 
pictures of their dead joys. And there they live, from 
year to year, in gloom and sadness, because they will 
not let God's sunshine in. I meet many persons who 
can talk for hours of their troubles, sorrows and cares, 
who seem to forget that God ever made a flower, or a 
star, or a sunbeam, or did a single kind, tender thing 
for them. j. r. miller. 

neh. Thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merci- 
• l l- ful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. 

It is observable, that the Roman magistrates, when 
they gave sentence upon any one to be scourged, had 
a bundle of rods, tied hard with many knots, laid be- 
fore them. The reason was this, — that whilst the 
beadle was untying the knots, which he was to do by 
order, and not in any other hasty or sudden way, the 
magistrate might see the deportment and carriage of 
the delinquent, — whether he was sorry for his fault, 
and showed any hope of amendment, — that then he 
might recall his sentence, or mitigate his punishment: 
otherwise, he was corrected so much the more 
severely. Thus God in the punishment of sinners, — 
how patient is He! how loath to strike! how slow to 
anger! spencer. 

job My servant Job . . . there is none like him. 
i. 8. YVe see in a jeweller's shop, that, as there are pearls 
and diamonds and other precious stones, there are files, 
cutting instruments, and many sharp tools for their 
polishing; and, while they are in the workhouse, they 
are continual neighbors to them, and come often under 
them. The Church is God's jewel; His workhouse, 
where His jewels are polishing for His palace and house; 

6 4 



Thoughts from My Library 



and those He especially esteems, and means to make 
the most resplendent, He hath oftenest His tools upon. 

LEIGHTON. 

He disappointeth the devices of the crafty. job 

During the siege of Sebastopol a Russian shell buried v - I2 - 
itself in the side of a hill outside the city, and opened 
a spring. A little fountain bubbled forth where the 
missile of death had fallen, and afforded to the weary 
troops encamped there an abundance of pure cold 
water during all the rest of the siege. What enemies 
mean shall do us evil often becomes a spring in the 
desert of privation and persecution. 

He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. job 

A Russian fable tells of a man who wished to ac- v - l 3- 
complish a journey over the snow and ice, through an 
inhospitable region infested with ravenous wolves. 
The distance was so great that it could only be 
traversed in a day by the strongest and swiftest horse 
to be found. Thus furnished, the traveller set forth 
to cross the steppe. When well on his way a huge 
wolf sprang upon the horse and devoured him. The 
wolf then became entangled in the harness and sped 
forth at a rapid rate, and soon drew the traveller to the 
very place he sought. Rev. Wm. Taylor says the 
devil has often attacked him in this way, and the re- 
sult has only been to take him the quicker over the 
rough roads to the place desired. The devil himself 
becomes the Lord's servant to save and help His people. 

Happy is the man whom God correcteth. job 

Happy, because the correction is designed to bring v ' I 7* 
him into paths of blessedness and peace. 

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One Thousand and One 



Happy, because there is no unnecessary severity 
in it. 

Happy, because the chastisement is not so much 
against us, as against our most cruel enemies — our 
sins. 

Happy, because we have abundant words of conso- 
lation. 

Happy, because whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. 
Happy, because our light affliction is but for a mo- 
ment. BOWEN. 

job All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my 
xiv. 14, change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer 
1 5- thee. 

When shall this change come ? I know not, the 
patriarch replies, but I am content to wait for it "all 
the days of my appointed time." Faith and Hope then 
express themselves in prayer, " Hide me in the grave," 
he says, "keep me secret till Thy wrath be past," and 
the day of peace and glory come — "appoint me a set 
time and remember me — then Thou shalt call and I will 
answer." How beautiful is all this! The child lying 
down to rest asks the parent to remember him in the 
morning, and call him at the appointed time. And 
when the sun casts his glad beams over the earth, and 
all nature is awakening to joy, the father withdraws 
the curtains and bids his child arise. So shall it be 
with the blessed God and His children in the glad 
resurrection morning. He will remember to call them 
at the "time appointed," and at His well-known voice 
they shall awake to sleep no more. tait. 

job Snares are round about thee. 
xxn. There is not a place beneath which a believer walks 



Thoughts from My Library 



that is free from snares. Behind every tree there is 
the Indian with his barbed arrow; behind every bush 
there is the lion sneeking to devour; under every piece 
of grass there lieth the adder. Everywhere they are. 

SPURGEON. 

He knoweth the way that I take. job 

When you are doubtful as to your course, submit xx iii 
your judgment absolutely to the spirit of God, and ask ia 
Him to shut against you every door but the right one. 
. . . In the meanwhile, continue along the path 
which you have been already treading. It lies in front 
of you; pursue it. Abide in the calling in which you 
were called. Keep on as you are, unless you are clearly 
told to do something else. Expect to have as clear a 
door out as you had in; and if there is no indication to 
the contrary, consider the absence of indication to be 
the indication of God's will that you are on His track. 
. . . Be not afraid to trust Him utterly. As you 
go down the long corridor you will find that He has pre- 
ceded you, and locked many doors which you would 
fain have entered; but be sure that beyond these there 
is one which He has left unlocked. Open it and enter, 
and you will find yourself face to face with a bend of 
the river of opportunity, broader and deeper than any- 
thing you had dared to imagine in your sunniest 
dreams. Launch forth on it; it conducts to the open 

Sea. F. B. MEYER. 

When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. job 

When David was fleeing through the wilderness, XXU1 
pursued by his own son, he was being prepared to be- I0 * 
come the sweet singer of Israel. The pit and the 
dungeon were the best schools at which David ever 

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graduated. The hurricane that upset the tent and 
killed Job's children prepared the man of Uz to write 
the magnificent poem that has astounded the ages. 
There is no way to get the wheat out of the straw, but 
to thresh it. There is no way to purify the gold, but 
to burn it. talmage. 

job / have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my 
xxiii. necessary food. 

12 ' Every growing Christian is a ruminating animal; he 
chews Bible truths and nutritious sermons and whole- 
some books and other such provender, as the cow 
cheweth her cud. One strong Bible text lodged in the 
memory, and turned over and over and well digested, 
will be a breakfast for your soul, and in the strength 
of it you go through the whole day. cutler. 

job If any say, I have sinned . . . he will deliver his 
xxxiii. soul from going into the pit. 

27, 28. ^ Turkish allegory says every man has two angels, 
one on the right shoulder and another on the left. 
When he does anything good, the angel on the right 
shoulder writes it down and seals it, because what is 
done is done forever. When he does evil, the angel 
on the left shoulder writes it down. Then he waits 
till midnight. If before that time the man bows his 
head, and exclaims, "Gracious Allah; I have sinned: 
forgive me! " the angel rubs it out; if not, he seals it, 
and the angel upon the right shoulder weeps. 

job God . . . who giveth songs in the night. 
xxxv. i s often in sorrow that our lives are taught their 
I0 * sweetest songs. There is a story of a German baron 
who stretched wires from tower to tower of his castle, 

68 



Thoughts from My Library 



to make a great ^olian harp. Then he waited and 
listened to hear the music from it. For a time the air 
was still and no sound was heard. The wires hung 
silent in the air. After a while came gentle breezes, 
and the harp sang softly. At length came the stern 
winter winds, strong and storm-like in their forces. 
Then the wires gave forth majestic music which was 
heard far and near. There are human lives that 
never, in the calm of quiet days, yield the music that 
is in them. When the breezes of common care sweep 
over them they give out soft murmurings of song. 
But it is only when the storms of adversity blow upon 
them that they answer in notes of noble victoriousness. 
It takes some trouble to bring out the best that is in 
them. j. R. MILLER. 

He openeth also their ear to discipline. job 

Sorrow is apt to be selfish. The soul, occupied xxx vi. 
with its own griefs, and refusing to be comforted, be- IO ' 
comes presently a Dead Sea, full of brine and salt, 
over which the birds do not fly, and beside which no 
green thing grows. And thus we miss the very lesson 
that God would teach us. His constant war is against 
the self-life, and every pain He inflicts is to lessen its 
hold upon us. But we may thwart His purpose and 
extract poison from His gifts, as men get opium and 
alcohol from innocent plants. 

He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise job 
to the small rain, and to the great rain of his xxxvn. 
strength. 

A dewdrop does the will of God as much as a 
thunderstorm. 

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One Thousand and One 



job Hath the rain a father? or who hath begotten the 
xxxvin drops of dew ? out of whose womb came the ice ? 

Ops on 

' y ' and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered 
it? 

Who could go to a picture gallery and while admir- 
ing the beautiful blending of the colors, and the per- 
fect outline of the various pictures, could ever believe 
the pictures came by chance, and that no mind con- 
ceived them and no hand painted them ? Who 
then can look out upon this glorious earth, with all its 
wondrous form and color, which seem to defy all the 
best attempts of our greatest geniuses, and then dis- 
believe in the great Artist of the universe, the God 
who painted the sunset and gave to the lily its sweet 
fragrance, its delicate texture and its lovely hue ? No, 
there is a God Who made us all, and He is the King 
of all the earth. Away, then, with treason and re- 
bellion; be loyal to God. f. s. webster. 

_ job The Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his 
xlii. 12. beginning. 

All the afflictions of the righteous open out into 
something glorious. The prisoner is not merely deliv- 
ered, but he finds an angel waiting for him at the door. 
And with every deliverance comes a specific blessing. 
One angel is named faith; another, love; another, joy; 
another, long-suffering; another, gentleness; another, 
goodness; another, meekness; another, temperance; 
another, peace. Each of these graces says, "We have 
come out of great tribulation." bowen. 

ps. Thou, O Lord j, art a shield for me. 
U1, 3- In the battle of this world, the Christian is seen 
without a shield. And just where he is, is the thick- 

70 



Thoughts from My Library 



est of the fight. The adversary hurls his best forces 
against that spot, evidently supposing that there is 
only this impediment between him and victory. It is 
wonderful then that the Christian should pass seam- 
less through this shower of fiery darts. Those that 
are in the secret know that — while apparently un- 
protected — he is in reality defended by an invisible 
shield. While he abides in faith, God encompasses 
him round about and nothing can by any means harm 
him. bowen. 

/ will both lay me down in peace and sleep : for thou, ps. 
Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. i y - & 

Sweet Evening Hymn! I shall not sit up to watch 
through fear, but I will lie down ; and then I will not 
lie awake listening to every rustling sound, but I will 
lie down in peace and sleep, for 1 have naught to fear. 
He that hath the wings of God above him needs no 
other curtain. Better than bolts or bars is the pro- 
tection of the Lord. Armed men kept the bed of 
Solomon, but we do not believe that he slept more 
soundly than his father, whose bed was the hard 
ground, and who was haunted by bloodthirsty foes. 
Note the word "only," which means that God alone 
was his keeper, and that though alone, without man's 
help, he was even then in good keeping, for he was 
"alone with God. . . ." They slumber sweetly 
whom faith rocks to sleep. No pillow so soft as a 
promise; no coverlet so warm as an assured interest 
in Christ. spurgeon. 

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord ; ps. 

in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee. v. 3. 
On the first of May in the olden times, according to 
V 



One Thousand and One 



annual custom, many inhabitants of London went into 
the fields to bathe their faces with the early dew upon 
the grass, under the idea that it would render them 
beautiful. Some writers call the custom supersti- 
tious; it may have been so, but this we know, that 
to bathe one's face every morning in the dew of 
heaven by prayer and communion, is the sure way 
to obtain true beauty of life and character. 

SPURGEON. 

ps. / . . . will look Up. 

3- Those that have searched into the monuments of Je- 
rusalem write that our Lord was crucified with His 
face to the west; which, however spitefully meant of 
the Jews (as not allowing Him worthy to look on the 
holy city and temple), yet was not without a mystery. 
"His eyes looked to the Gentiles," etc., saith the 
Psalmist. As Christ, therefore, on His cross, looked 
toward us, sinners of the Gentiles, so let us look up to 

Him. BISHOP HALL. 

ps. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. 

What a fine Hebraism, and what grand poetry it is 
in English! "He hath heard the voice of my weep- 
ing." Is there a voice in weeping ? Does weeping 
speak ? In what language doth it utter its meaning ? 
Why, in that universal tongue which is known and 
understood in all the earth, and even in heaven above. 
When a man weeps, whether he be a Jew or Gentile, 
Barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, it has the same 
meaning in it. Weeping is the eloquence of sorrow. 
It is an unstammering orator, needing no interpreter, 
but understood of all. Is it not sweet to believe that 
our tears are understood even when words fail ? Let 

72 



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us learn to think of tears as liquid prayers, and of 
weeping as a constant dropping of importunate inter- 
cession which will wear its way right surely into the 
very heart of mercy, despite the stony difficulties 
which obstruct the way. My God, I will "weep" 
when I cannot plead, for Thou hearest the voice of my 
weeping. spurgeon. 

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers ps. 
. . . what is man that thou art mindful of him ? V11L 3> 
Just as the mountain supports the tiny blade of grass 
and the modest floweret, as well as the giant pine or 
cedar; just as that ocean bears up in safety the sea- 
bird seated on its crested waves, as well as the levia- 
than vessel: so, while the great Keeper of Israel can 
listen to the archangels' song and the seraphs' burn- 
ing devotions, He can carry in His bosom the feeblest 
lamb of the fold, and lead gently the most sorrowing 
spirit. MACDUFF. 

The Lord . . . will be a refuge for the oppressed, 
a refuge in times of trouble. 

It is reported of the Egyptians that living in fens, 
and being vexed with gnats, they used to sleep in high 
towers, whereby those creatures, not being able to soar 
so high, they were delivered from the biting of them ; so 
would it be with us when bitten with cares and fears, 
did we but run to God for refuge, and rest confident 
of His help. trapp. 

Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved, ps. 

The nearer the soul is to God, the less its perturba- xy i- 8 
tions; as the point nearest the centre of a circle is sub- 
ject to the least motion. 

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One Thousand and One 



ps. Thou wilt show me the path of life. 
XVL There is a path in which every child of God is to 
walk, and in which alone God can accompany him. 

DENHAM SMITH. 



XV111 



ps. God . . . tnaketh my way perfect. 

I heard a gentleman assert that he could walk almost 
3 2 ' any number of miles when the scenery was good; but, 
he added, "When it is flat and uninteresting, how one 
tires! " 

What scenery enchants the Christian pilgrim; the 
towering mountains of predestination, the great sea of 
providence, the rocks of sure promise, the green fields 
of revelation, the river that makes glad the city of God, 
all these compose the scenery which surrounds the 
Christian, and at every step fresh sublimities meet his 
view! SPURGEON. 

ps. Their line is gone out through all the earth and their 
xix. 4. words to the end of the world. 

Sun, moon, and stars are God's travelling preachers: 
apostles on their journeys, confirming those who fear 
the Lord; judges on circuit, condemning those who 
worship idols. spurgeon. 

ps. Cleanse thou me from secret faults. 
xix.12. j^e world wants men who are saved from secret 
faults. The world can put on an outside goodness 
and go very far in uprightness and morality, and it ex- 
pects that a Christian shall go beyond it, and be free 
from secret faults. A little crack will spoil the ring of 
the coin. . . . The world expects, and rightly, 
that the Christian should be more gentle, and patient, 
and generous, than he who does not profess to be a 

74 



Thoughts from My Library 



disciple of the Lord Jesus. For the sake of those who 
take their notion of religion from our lives we need to 
put up this prayer earnestly, "Cleanse thou me from 
secret faults." mark guy pearse. 

He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even ps. 
length of days forever and ever. XXL 4- 

When poor men make requests to us, we usually 
answer them as the echo does the voice: the answer 
cuts off half the petition. We shall seldom find among 
men Jael's courtesy, giving milk to those that ask 
water, except it be as this was, an entangling benefit, 
the better to introduce a mischief. There are not many 
Naamans among us, that, when you beg of them one 
talent, will force you to take two; but God's answer 
to our prayers is like a multiplying glass, which ren- 
ders the request much greater in the answer than it was 
in the prayer. bishop Reynolds. 

Beneath me: green pastures. 
Beside me: still waters. 
With me: my Shepherd. 
Before me: a table. 
Around me: mine enemies. 
After me: goodness and mercy. 
Beyond me: the house of the Lord. 

" The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." 

I shall not want rest. " He maketh me to lie down 
in green pastures." 

I shall not want drink. " He leadeth me beside the 
still waters." 

I shall not want forgiveness. "He restoreth my 
soul." 

75 



PS. 

xxiii. 



One Thousand and One 

I shall not want guidance. "He leadeth me in the 
paths of righteousness for his name's sake." 

I shall not want companionship. "Yea, though I 
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will 
fear no evil; for thou art with me." 

I shall not want comfort. "Thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me." 

I shall not want food. " Thou preparest a table be- 
fore me in the presence of mine enemies." 

I shall not want joy. "Thou hast anointed my 
head with oil." 

I shall not want anything. "My cup runneth over." 

I shall not want anything in this life. "Surely 
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my 
life." 

I shall not want anything in eternity. "And I will 
dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 

That is what David said he would find in the Good 
Shepherd. And one day it occurred to me to see how 
this twenty-third Psalm was fulfilled in Christ. This 
is what I found in Christ's own words: 

"I am the Good Shepherd." 

Thou shalt not want rest. "Come unto me all ye 
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest." 

Thou shalt not want drink. "If any man thirst let 
him come unto me and drink." 

Thou shalt not want forgiveness. "The Son of 
man hath power on earth to forgive sins." 

Thou shalt not want guidance. " I am the way, and 
the truth, and the life." 

Thou shalt not want companionship. "Lo, I am 
with you ' all the days.' " 

7 6 



Thoughts from My Library 



Thou shalt not want comfort. "The Father shall 
give you another Comforter." 

Thou shalt not want food. "I am the bread of 
life; he that cometh to me shall not hunger." 

Thou shalt not want joy. "That my joy may be in 
you and that your joy may be filled full." 

Thou shalt not want anything. "If ye shall ask 
anything of the Father in my name He will give it 
you." 

Thou shalt not want anything in this life. " Seek ye 
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all 
these things shall be added unto you." 

Thou shalt not want anything in eternity. " I go to 
prepare a place for you that where I am there ye may 
be also." mrs. j. r. mott. 

Thy rod and thy staff. PS . 

In 1849 Dr. Duff was travelling near Simla, under xxiii.4. 
the shadow of the great Himalaya mountains. One 
day his way led up to a narrow bridle-path cut out on 
the face of a steep ridge. Along this narrow path, 
that ran so near a great precipice, he saw a shepherd 
leading on his flock, the shepherd going first, and the 
flock following him. But now and then the shepherd 
stopped and looked back. If he saw a sheep creeping 
up too far on the one hand, or going too near the edge 
of the dangerous precipice on the other, he would at 
once turn back, and go to it, gently pulling it back. 
He had a long rod, as tall as himself, around the lower 
half of which was twisted a band of iron. There was 
a crook at one end of the rod, and it was with this the 
shepherd took hold of one of the hind legs of the 
wandering sheep to pull it back. The thick band of 

77 



One Thousand and One 



iron at the other end of the rod was really a staff, and 
was ready for use whenever he saw a hyena, or wolf, 
or some other troublesome animal, come near the 
sheep; for, especially at night, these creatures prowled 
about the flock. With the iron part of the rod he could 
give a good blow when any attack was threatened. In 
Psalm xxiii. 4, we have mention made of " Thy rod 
and Thy staff." There is meaning in both, and dis- 
tinct meaning. God's rod draws us back kindly and 
lovingly if we go astray from His path ; God's staff 
protects us against the onset, open or secret, whether 
it be men or devils, that are the enemies watching an 
opportunity for attack. In this we find unspeakable 
comfort. The young, inexperienced believer may 
reckon on having the crook of that blessed rod put 
forth to draw him back from danger and wandering; 
and also may expect that the staff of it shall not fail to 
come down upon those that "seek his soul to de- 
stroy it." 

ps. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days 
xxiii. 6. of my life. 

They say in England if a man walks he must be 
poor, if he sometimes calls a cab he is better off, if one 
footman rides behind him he is rich, but if two are on 
the back of his carriage he must have a great in- 
heritance. God has no poor children; they all have a 
great inheritance; two footmen are always behind, 
"Goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of 
my life." Or, goodness and mercy may be called 
God's watchdogs, following in the rear. moody. 

ps. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. 
xxv. 1. j n W aiting upon God we must often speak to Him, 

78 



Thoughts from My Library 



must take all occasions to speak to Him ; and when we 
have not opportunity for a solemn address to Him, He 
will accept of a sudden address if it comes from an 
honest heart. David waited on God all day : "Unto 
Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul " ; to Thee do I 
dart it, and all its gracious breathings are after Thee. 
We should, in a holy ejaculation, ask pardon for this 
sin, strength against this corruption, victory over this 
temptation, and it shall not be in vain. This is to pray 
always, and without ceasing. Matthew henry. 

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me. PS> 

Truth shines like light from heaven; but the mind xxv. 5. 
and conscience within the man constitute the reflector 
that receives it. arnot. 

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. ps. 

Trust the Lord much while He is with you. Keep xxv - 

no secrets from Him. His secrets are with you; let ! 4- 
your secrets be with Him. spurgeon. 

Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord. ps. 

Rev. Charles Simeon kept the picture of Henry xxv * 
Martyn in his study. Move where he would through 
the apartment, it seemed to keep its eyes upon him, and 
ever to say to him, " Be earnest, be earnest! don't trifle, 
don't trifle ! " And the good Simeon would gently bow 
to the speaking picture, and, with a smile, reply, "Yes: 
I will be in earnest; 1 will, I will be in earnest; I will 
not trifle; for souls are perishing, and Jesus is to be 
glorified." O Christian ! look away to Martyn's Master, 
to Simeon's Saviour, to the omniscient One. Ever 
realize the inspection of His eye, and hear His voice. 

s. J. MOORE. 

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One Thousand and One 



Look up and not down; look forward and not back; 
look out and not in; and lend a hand. e. e. hale. 

p S- The Lord is . . . my salvation. 
xxvii 

j" The arithmetic of full Salvation may be stated thus: 
(i) Sin subtracted. (2) Grace added. (3) Gifts di- 
vided. (4) Peace multiplied. 

PS- The Lord is the strength of my life. 
xxvii 

" Perhaps thou findest the duty of thy calling too 
heavy for thy weak shoulders. Make bold by faith to 
lay the heaviest end of thy burden on God's shoulder, 
which is thine, if a believer, as sure as God can make 
it by promise. When at any time thou art sick of thy 
work, and ready to think with Jonas to run from it, 
encourage thyself with that of God to Gideon, whom 
He called from the flail to thresh the mountains : "Go 
in this thy might." Hath not God called thee ? Fall to 
the work God sets thee about, and thou engagest His 
strength for thee. "The way of the Lord is strength." 
Run from thy work, and thou engagest God's strength 
against thee; He will send some storm or other after 
thee to bring home His runaway servant. How oft 
hath the coward been killed in a ditch, or under some 
hedge, when the valiant soldier that stood his ground 
and kept his place got off with safety and honor! 

GURNALL. 

ps. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the 
xxx. 5. morning. 

Lo! there comes hitherward, as though making for 
the door of our house, a dark form. She is slightly 
bent, but not with age. She has a pale face; her step 
is languid, like one who has travelled far and is weary; 

80 



Thoughts from My Library 

and her tears flow so fast that she cannot wipe them 
away. Our hearts beat as we watch her coming. 
Will she pass or will she stay? "I am a pilgrim," 
quoth she; "will you lodge me for the night? I am 
sad, I am weary, for I go round all the world. There 
are few houses I do not enter, and in some I make a 
long stay. You ask me for my name. I bear it on 
my countenance; my name is " Weeping.'' You wish 
to see my credentials ? It is sufficient that none have 
been able to keep me outside a door inside of which I 
wished to be; and I know that notwithstanding your 
beating hearts, you will not be inhospitable; you will 
take me in ?" " Yes, for a little, to refresh you, to dry 
your tears if we can, and then to bid you farewell." 
"Nay, I can make no stipulation; I go where I am 
sent; I depart at the appointed time!" And now 
"Weeping" has her chamber in the house. And the 
blinds are drawn down, and hearts are hushed, and 
feet tread lightly, and listening all night through, we 
hear sighs, and sometimes almost sobs, from the 
chamber where "Weeping" lies sleepless. And we 
too are sleepless and anxious, and one and another 
find the tears flowing down their own cheeks as the 
night goes on; and the house is all full of pain and 
fear, as the dark thought begins to take shape that she 
may have come to make a long stay. We are up be- 
times, for now we are amongst those that "watch 
for the morning." Some flush of it is in the eastern 
sky. "And see," we say to each other, "it is be- 
ginning to gild yon mountain-peaks, and to flow 
down into the valleys "; when hearing some footsteps 
approaching, lo! there comes one whose step is 
elastic, whose form is graceful, who bears the dawn 

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One Thousand and One 

on his countenance, who sheds light around him as he 
walks. Again our hearts begin to beat, but this time 
it is with fear that he will not have a long stay. "I 
am a pilgrim," quoth he; "I have long been on the 
road. I can walk through the darkest night and not 
stumble; I have come to you this morning with the 
dawn, and I wish to stay." Ah! welcome indeed! If 
we knew where to give thee room; we have but one 
guest-chamber, and it is occupied. There came to us 
last night about sundown a poor pilgrim named 
"Weeping," who for the first hours of night sighed 
and wept so sorely that it seemed as if she were 
breathing her life away. For the last two hours she 
seems to have fallen asleep, for her chamber is silent 
and it would be cruel to awake her. "Weeping." 
Ah! I know her well. My name is Joy. Weeping 
and Joy have had the world between them since the 
world was made. But now, look in your room. You 
will find it empty. I met her an hour ago on the other 
side of the hill. She told me she had slipped silently 
away, and that I would just be in time to smile good- 
morning to you from my bright face, while she went 
on her way toward the Valley of Baca, and the deeper 
darker Valley of the Shadow of Death. Weeping will 
not come here again to-night, and I shall stay, or I 
shall leave some of the light of my presence to fill 
your home. Weeping goes westward, and I go east- 
ward, and we often meet, and always part. Some- 
times my heart is sorry for her, even as her heart longs 
after me. But — a word in your ear — 1 have heard it in 
the Land of Light from which I come, and she knows 
it too: There is a time approaching, steadily if not 
quickly, when even she will not know how to weep. 

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"For the Lord God will wipe away tears from all 
faces." This weary world shall obtain joy and glad- 
ness at last, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 
"Wherefore comfort one another with these words." 

RALEIGH. 

How great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for ps. 

them that fear thee. xxxi. 

God's promises are ever on the ascending scale. ! 9* 
One leads up to another, fuller and more blessed than 
itself. In Mesopotamia, God said, "I will show thee 
the land." At Bethel, "This is the land." In Canaan, 
"I will give thee all the land, and children innumer- 
able as the grains of sand. . . ." It is thus that God 
allures us to saintliness. Not giving us anything till 
we have dared to act — that He may test us. Not giv- 
ing everything at first — that He may not overwhelm 
us. And always keeping in hand an infinite reserve of 
blessing. Oh! the unexplored remainders of God! 
Who ever saw His last star ? f. b. meyer. 

/ acknowledged my sin unto thee . . . and thou ps. 

forgavest the iniquity of my sin. xxxii. 

The same moment which brings the consciousness 5* 
of sin ought to bring also the confession and the con- 
sciousness of forgiveness. h. w. smith. 

/ will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which ps. 

thou shalt go. xxxii. 

When God does the directing, our life is useful and 8 * 
full of promise, whatever it is doing, and discipline 
has its perfecting work. h. e. cobb. 

/ will guide thee with mine eye. PS . 
How can the Lord guide us thus unless we walk xxxii. 

83 8 - 



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near enough to catch the glance, and take the direction 
of His eye ? Alas ! that so many of us are ' ' as the horse, 
or as the mule, which have no understanding; whose 
mouth must be held in with bit and bridle." 

ps. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 
xxxiv. L et not thy praises be transient, — a fit of music, and 
1 ' then the instrument hung by the wall till another gaudy 
day of some remarkable providence makes thee take it 
down. God comes not guest-wise to His saints' house, 
but to dwell with them. David took this up for a life- 
work: " As long as I live, I will praise Thee." 

GURNALL. 

ps. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord 
xxxiv. deliver eth him out of them all. 

! 9* Faith is the Christian's foundation, and hope is his 
anchor, and death is his harbor, and Christ is his pilot, 
and heaven is his country; and all the evils of poverty, 
or affronts of tribunals and evil judges, of fears and 
sad apprehensions, are but like the loud winds blow- 
ing from the right point, — they make a noise, but drive 
faster to the harbor. And if we do not leave the ship, 
and jump into the sea; quit the interest of religion, and 
run to the securities of the world; cut our cables, and 
dissolve our hopes; grow impatient; hug a wave and 
die in its embraces, — we are safe at sea, safer in the 
storm which God sends us, than in a calm when we 
are befriended by the world. jeremy taylor. 

ps. Rest in the Lord ; wait patiently for him. 
xxxvii. i n Hebrew, " Be silent unto God and let Him mould 
7- thee." Keep still, and He will mould thee to the right 
shape. luther. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and ps. 

he delighteth in his way. xx 
Teach me thy way, O Lord. — Ps. xxvii. 1 1. 2 3' 

God has a book in which is written the ideal history 
of every man, the biography as it would have been 
had the man's steps been ordered by the Lord; and 
another in which is written the actual history of every 
man. The books are open side by side, and what a 
contrast do they present. "Oh! that they had heark- 
ened to my commandments! " saith the Lord; nor is it 
possible for any one to look upon these two records 
without taking up the lamentation. What a hallowed 
and beautiful path is traced in the one; what honor- 
able conflicts and glorious victories; what nobleness 
of enterprise, what steadfastness under difficulties, 
what beneficence, what usefulness! . . . In com- 
parison with this divine romance, behold the actual 
life portrayed in the other book. How mean! how 
contemptible! how disordered! What fearful con- 
fusion! . . . Suppose the book of your ideal biog- 
raphy should drop from heaven upon your path. You, 
with your worldly and gross heart, take it up and look 
into it. At first, seeing a good deal about tribulation, 
privation, persecution, bonds, defamation, poverty, and 
tears, you are ready to throw it away. But stay, my 
friend; it is from heaven, see if there be not some- 
thing coupled with these expressions. At one end of 
a sentence you find, "they that mourn," "poor in 
spirit," "they that are persecuted," "through much 
tribulation"; but what at the other end? "Joy," 
"blessedness," "kingdom of heaven." Remember 
the disordered steps of your past life. See how much 
misery you have experienced, even in the path of your 

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One Thousand and One 



own gratification. How unsatisfactory is the retro- 
spect. Are you not willing to live the life that God 
has sketched for you ? Take this book, and live this 
life; and your biography will be a valuable contribu- 
tion to the libraries of heaven. bowen. 



ps. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew. 

xy y Did you ever stand upon the shore on some day of 
* that uncertain weather when gloom and glory meet 
together, and notice how swiftly there went racing 
over miles of billows a darkening that quenched all 
the play of color in the waves, as if all suddenly the 
angel of the waters had spread his broad wings be- 
tween sun and sea, and then how, in another moment, 
as swiftly it flits away, and with a burst the light 
blazes out again, and leagues of ocean flash into green 
and violet and blue ? So fleeting, so utterly perishable 
are our lives, for all their seeming show of solid per- 
manency. McLaren. 



ps. / am a stranger with thee. 

:ix. " a stranger with thee," — then we are the guests of 
I2 ' the King. The Lord of the land charges Himself with 
our protection and provision; we journey under His 
safe conduct. It is for His honor and faithfulness 
that no harm shall come to us travelling in His terri- 
tory, and relying on His word. Like Abraham with 
the sons of Heth, we may claim the help and protec- 
tion which a stranger needs. He recognizes the bond 
and will fulfill it. We have eaten of His salt, and He 
will answer for our safety. "He that toucheth you 
toucheth the apple of His eye." McLaren. 

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/ delight to do thy will, O my God. ps. 

We need to watch against a "grudging service." 
The enemy is always trying to get in the word " duty " 
instead of the word ''delight"; he says a stern "you 
must" instead of the loving "you may." There is no 
slavery like the slavery of love, but its chains are 
sweet. It knows nothing of "sacrifice," no matter 
what may be given up. It delights to do the will of 
the beloved one. smith. 

Thy law is within my heart. 

Fill your memory with " words of eternal life." 
You will need them in the dark and lonely hours of life. 
Then they will shine out like stars. They will speak 
in the solitudes with infinite sweetness and power. 

How beautifully is the office of conscience set forth 
in the ring, which according to the fable, a magician 
presented to his prince! The gift was of inestimable 
value, not for the diamonds and rubies and pearls that 
gemmed it, but for a rare and mystic property in 
the metal. It sat easily enough in ordinary circum- 
stances; but so soon as its wearer formed a bad 
thought or wish, designed or concocted a bad action, 
the ring became a monitor. Suddenly contracting, it 
pressed painfully on the finger, warning him of sin. 
The ring of that fable is just that conscience which is 
the voice of God within us, which is His law written on 
the fleshly tablets of the heart. guthrie. 

As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth ps. 

my soul after thee, O God. xlii. i. 

Once, a king, in crossing the desert in a lone cara- 
van, was parched with thirst. Dreadful is that dry 

87 



PS. 

xl. 8. 



One Thousand and One 



and thirsty land where no water is! The sands were 
strewn with the wrecks of caravans, the skeletons of 
men who had died of thirst lying in that dread ceme- 
tery; and then the cry arose, "Water, water! there is 
no water!" It was a fearful moment. Parched throats 
and eyes hopelessly looked up to the all-too-cloudy sky 
along the plain; overhead, the red-hot copper sun. 
Then said one, "We must let loose the harts, — the 
light, fleet harts." They bounded in all directions. 
Keen in their instinctive scent of water, the spring was 
found; and then, when they sat to rest beside the 
beautiful and blessed pool, — then said the king, as he 
took forth his tablets and wrote, et As the hart panteth 
after the zvater-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, 
O God." E. P. HOOD. 

ps. He is thy Lord ; and worship thou him. 

n " The Jews, and the Mahometans also, have curious 
legends about Abraham's conversion. They say that, 
when he was forty years of age, his mind took a re- 
ligious turn. At that time, observing a star when 
night overshadowed him, he said, "This is my Lord! " 
but, keeping his eye on the luminary, and observing it 
sink ere long, he abandoned all faith in it, wisely re- 
marking, "I like not gods which set." As the night 
wore on and left him in painful perplexity, the moon 
rose up in silver splendor. He turned to her with the 
delighted exclamation, "This is my Lord!" But fol- 
lowing in the wake of the star, she also set; and when 
her bright rim dipped below the horizon, with her set 
his faith in her divinity. By and by, from the purple 
east, the sun leaped up, illuminating the heavens with 
splendor and bathing the world in light. All his dark 

88 



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doubts now scattered with the morning mists before 
its beams. " This," exclaimed Abraham, throwing 
himself down to worship, " This is my Lord! " But 
when hours had rolled on, the sun also began to sink; 
and when, following star and moon, it vanished from 
his gaze, old legends tell how Abraham rose from his 
knees to cast aside the faith of his fathers, and wor- 
ship Him Who alone rules both in heaven and in earth. 

GUTHRIE. 

There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad ps. 
the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of xlvi 
the Most High. 

They tell us these words were written when Sen- 
nacherib's great army besieged Jerusalem, and the first 
thing he did was to cut off the aqueduct that supplied 
Jerusalem with water, saying to himself, "I will soon 
bring them to surrender; I will starve them by cutting 
off their water supply." But Sennacherib knew noth- 
ing of the pool of Siloam that was at the foundation 
stone of the temple of God, a supply unfailing, which 
might have stood them for years and years, although this 
other was cut off, so that he could not starve Jerusalem 
for lack of water; for there was " a river, the streams 
whereof shall make glad the city of God." We may 
take this "city of God" to mean the church of Christ. 
The church of Christ is besieged to-day. Is it not be- 
sieged by enemies all around ? Yet we, who are in the 
church of our God, can look round calmly, and seeing 
the attack, say, "There is a river, the streams whereof 
shall make glad the city of God." 

Be still, and know that I am God. ps. 
There is a restlessness and a fretfulness in these x ^ vl 



One Thousand and One 



xlviii 



days, which stand like two granite walls against god- 
liness. Contentment is almost necessary to godli- 
ness, and godliness is absolutely necessary to con- 
tentment. A very restless man will never be a very 
godly, and a very godly man will never be a very 
restless man. 

PS. He will be our guide even unto death. 

He is the guide of those who feel their need of an 
all-wise, all-powerful, all-condescending guide, and 
who are willing to yield their own preferences and 
ideas to His in travelling over the glaciers of life. His 
Word is a lamp unto their feet, a light unto their path. 
He will hold their hand till they reach the gate of 
death, and passing through it they will see that it is 
the gate of paradise. Death confesses itself van- 
quished when it sees them walking on the battlements 
clothed in white. bowen. 



xlix 
17 



ps. For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away ; his 
glory shall not descend after him. 
I remember an Eastern legend which I have always 
thought furnished a remarkable, though unconscious, 
commentary on these words of the Psalmist. Alex- 
ander the Great, we are told, being upon his death-bed, 
commanded that when he was carried forth to the 
grave, his hands should not be wrapped as usual in the 
cere cloth, but should be left outside the bier, so that 
all might see them, and might see that they were 
empty, that there was nothing in them; that he, born 
to one empire, and the conqueror of another, the pos- 
sessor while he lived of two worlds — of the East and 
of the West — and of the treasures of both, yet now 
when he was dead could retain no smallest portions of 

90 



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these treasures; that in this matter the poorest beggar 
and he were at length on equal terms. 

ARCHBISHOP TRENCH. 

My sin is ever before me. ps. 

Poisons may be made medicinal. Let the thoughts ^- 5- 
of old sins stir up a commotion of anger and hatred. 

CHARNOCK. 

Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this ps. 

evil in thy sight. . . . Wash me and I shall be li. 4, 7- 

whiter than snow. 
For Herod had laid hold on John and . . . put 

him in prison for Herodias' sake. — Matt. xiv. 3. 

When the ungodly and the godly fall into the same 
sin, how can we distinguish between them ? By a 
simple test, — a test by which you may know a sheep 
from a swine, when both have fallen into the same 
slough, and are, in fact, so bemired, that you can hardly 
tell the one from the other. The unclean animal, in cir- 
cumstances agreeable to its nature, wallows in the 
mire; but the sheep (type of the godly) fills the air 
with its bleatings, nor ceases to struggle to get out. 

GUTHRIE. 

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. ps. 

A man is gazing intently down a deep, still well, li- I2 - 
where he sees the moon reflected, and thus remarks to 
a friend standing by: " How beautifully fair and round 
she is to-night! how quietly and majestically she rides 
along! " He has just finished speaking, when suddenly 
his friend drops a small pebble into the well. Now he 
exclaims, "Why, the moon is all broken to shivers, 
and the fragments are shaking together in the greatest 

91 



One Thousand and One 



disorder! " " What gross absurdity! " is the astonished 
rejoinder of his companion. " Look up, man ! the moon 
hasn't changed one jot or tittle, it is the condition of 
the well that reflects her that has changed.'' Your 
heart is the well. When there is no allowance of evil 
the Spirit of God takes of the preciousness of Christ, 
and reveals them to you for your comfort and joy. 
But the moment a wrong motive is cherished in the 
heart, or an idle word escapes the lips unjudged, the 
Holy Ghost begins to disturb the well, your happy ex- 
periences are smashed to pieces, and you are all rest- 
less and disturbed within, until in brokenness of spirit 
before God you confess your sin (the disturbing 
thing), and thus get restored once more to the calm, 
sweet joy of communion. w. kelly. 

ps. Evening . . . will I pray. 

Sleep is Death's younger brother, and so like him, 
that I never dare trust him without my prayers. 

T. BROWN. 

ps. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain 
lv - 22 - thee. 

What an immense lot of overloaded people there are 
in this world! We can see it in their careworn faces; 
and each one thinks his burden is the heaviest. There 
is a certain kind of care that is wise; a man who has 
no forethought for the future is a sluggard or a fool. 
The apostle had no reference to a wise thoughtfulness 
for the future when he said, " Cast all your care upon 
Him, for He careth for you." That much perverted 
verse is accurately translated in the Revised Version — 
" casting all your anxiety on Him because He careth for 
you." Now just what our almighty and all-loving 

92 



Thoughts from My Library 



Father offers is — to help carry our loads. He who 
watched over the infant deliverer of Israel in his cradle 
of rushes, who sent His ravens to feed Elijah by the 
brookside, who protected Daniel in the den, and kept 
Paul calm and cheerful in the hurricane, is the very 
One who says to us — Roll your anxieties over on Me, 
for I have you in My heart! cuyler. 

What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. ps. 

Faith and fear do blend, thank God. They are as ^ vx - 3- 
oil and water in a man's soul, and the oil will float 
above, and quiet the waves. "What time I am 
afraid" — there speaks nature and the heart. "I will 
trust in Thee " — there speaks the better man within, 
lifting himself above nature and circumstances, and 
casting himself into the extended arms of God, Who 
catches him and keeps him safe. McLaren. 

Thou hast been a shelter for me. ps. 

Somewhere in the East, there is said to be a tree * x ** 3" 
which is a non-conductor of electricity. The people 
know it; and, when a storm comes, they flee toward 
it for safety. Beautiful picture of the Saviour!— beau- 
tiful emblem of the tree on Calvary! It is a non-con- 
ductor of wrath. thomas jones. 

Trust in him at all times. ps. 

A parable says that there was a great king who em- 
ployed his people to weave for him. The silk, and 
woof, and patterns were all given by the king, and he 
looked for diligent working people. He was very in- 
dulgent, and told them when any difficulty arose to 
send to him, and he would help them; and never to 
fear troubling him, but to ask for help and instruction, 

93 



Ixn. 



One Thousand and One 



Among many men and women busy at their looms 
was one little child whom the king did not think too 
young to work. Often alone at her work, cheerfully 
and patiently she labored. One day, when the men 
and women were distressed at the sight of their fail- 
ures — the silks were tangled, and the weaving unlike 
the pattern — they gathered round the child and said, 
"Tell us how it is that you are so happy in your work. 
We are always in difficulties." " Then why do you 
not send to the king?" said the little weaver; "he 
told us that we might do so." " So we do, night and 
morning." " Ah," said the child, " but I send as often 
as I have a little tangle." 

ps. My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee. 

' lm What epic can equal those unwritten words which 
pour into the ear of God out of the heart's fullness! 
still more, those unspoken words which never find the 
lip, but go up to heaven in unutterable longings and 
aspirations! Words are but the bannerets of a great 
army, a few bits of waving color here and there: 
thoughts are the main body of the footmen that march 
unseen below. beecher. 

ps. Daily shall he be praised. 

™* See yon starry host! see the mighty cohorts of 
cherubs and seraphs! Let men begone, and they shall 
praise Him ; let the troops of the glorified cease their 
notes, and let no sweet melodies ever come from the 
lips of sainted men and women, — yet the chariots of 
God are twenty thousand, even many thousands of 
angels, who always in their motion chant His praise. 
There is an orchestra on high, the music of which shall 
never cease, even were mortals extinct, and all the 

94 



Thoughts from My Library 



human race swept from existence. Again: if angels 
were departed, still daily would He be praised; for are 
there not worlds on worlds, and suns on suns, and 
systems on systems, that could forever sing His praise ? 
Yes ! The ocean — that house of storms — would howl 
out His glories ; the winds would swell the notes of His 
praise with their ceaseless gales; the thunders would 
roll like drums in the march of the God of armies; the 
illimitable void of ether would become vocal with 
song; and space itself would burst forth into one uni- 
versal chorus, " Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! still 
the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.*' And if these 
were gone, if creatures ceased to exist. He who ever 
liveth and reigneth, in whom all the fullness of the 
Godhead bodily dwells, would still be praised, praised 
in Himself, and glorious in Himself; for the Father 
would praise the Son, and the Spirit would praise Him : 
and mutually blessing one another, and rendering each 
other beatified, still "daily would He be praised." 

SPURGEON. 

/ will meditate also of all thy work. ps. 

In the works of God I know nothing more beautiful Ixxvii. 
than the perfect skill with which He suits His crea- I2, 
tures to their conditions. He gives wings to birds, 
fins to the fish, sails to the thistle-seed, a lamp to light 
the glowworm, great roots to moor the majestic cedar, 
and to the aspiring ivy a thousand hands to climb the 
wall. Nor is the wisdom thus conspicuous in nature 
less remarkable and adorable as exhibited in the ar- 
rangements of the Kingdom of Grace. He forms a 
holy people for a holy state. He fits heaven for the 
redeemed and the redeemed for heaven. guthrie. 

95 



One Thousand and One 



ps. He led them on safely. 
Ixxviii. What a God is ours! He overthrows our foes in 
^* the sea, and disciplines His people in the desert. He 
leads us over the burning sand, and rests us in lux- 
uriant glades. He permits disappointment at Marah, 
and surprises us at Elim. He leads us by a cloud; 
but He speaks to us by a human voice. He counts 
the number of the stars; but He feeds His flock- like a 
shepherd, and gently leads those that give suck. He 
chooses a thundercloud as the canvas on which He 
paints His promise in rainbow hues. He proves by 
Marah, and at Elim recruits us. f. b. meyer. 



ps. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house : they will be 
lxxxiv. still praising thee. 

^' As God turns His thoughts of us into promises, so 
let us turn our thoughts of Him into prayers; and since 
His regards for us are darted in beams upon us, let 
them be reflected back upon Him in thankfulness for 
the gift, and earnestness both for the continuance and 
increase of such impressions. charnock. 

ps. They go from strength to strength. 
lxxxiv. High hearts are never long without hearing some 
7' new call, some distant clarion of God, even in their 
dreams; and soon they are observed to break up the 
camp of ease and start on some fresh march of faith- 
ful service. j. martineau. 

ps. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk 
lxxxiv. uprightly. 

Spiritual mercies are good things, and not only good 
things, but the best things, so that you may well ask 

9 6 



Thoughts from My Library 



for them; for if no good things will be withholden, 
much more will none of the best things. 

SPURGEON. 

/ will hear what God the Lord will speak. ps. 

Wilt thou indeed? Art thou really purposed to l xx *v. 
ascertain what revelation there is of thy Creator's will 
concerning thee ? . . . But this determination of 
thine will amount to nothing, just nothing, if there be 
not in thee a willingness to hear all that the Lord will 
speak. If out of a hundred words of God, thou fix 
upon one and resolve to honor it while the rest lie all 
dishonored, that word which thou hearest will turn 
against thee, and in the last day bring on thee ad- 
ditional condemnation. How many fancy that they 
are hearkening to God's word, while all the time they 
are only hearkening to their own heart's lusts. Half 
a dozen pages would contain all their Bible— theirs 
truly, not God's. It is impossible to hear what God 
the Lord will speak, while a thousand vain voices are 
allowed to have thy attention. There is too much 
noise in thine own heart for thee to hear. Thou art 
too much busied about thine own will, to become 
acquainted with the will of God. The Lord will not 
lead thee by the right hand, while another leads thee 
by the left. bowen. 

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. PS> 

Lift up your heart to God, and lay out your talents lxxxvi. 
for the world. arnot. 4- 

Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. PS> 

A city never built with hands, nor hoary with the lxxxvii 

years of time — a city, whose inhabitants no census has 3- 

97 



One Thousand and One 



numbered — a city through whose streets rush no tides 
of business, nor nodding hearse creeps slowly with 
its burden to the tomb — a city, without griefs or 
graves, without sins or sorrows, without births or 
burials, without marriages or mournings — a city, 
which glories in having Jesus for its King, angels for 
its guards, saints for its citizens; whose walls are 
salvation, and whose gates are praise. guthrie. 

ps. All my springs are in thee. 
Ixxxvii j t j s 0 b servec i 0 f tfr e spider that in the morning, be- 
^' fore she seeks her prey, she mends her broken web, 
and in doing this she always begins in the middle. 
And shall those who call themselves Christians rise 
and pursue the callings and profits of the world, and 
yet be unconcerned about the broken webs of their 
lives, and especially of their hearts ? Those who 
would have the cocks run with wholesome water 
should look well to the springs that supply them. 
The heart is the presence-chamber where the King of 
glory takes up His residence. That which is most 
worthy in us should be resigned to Him Who is most 
worthy of us. secker. 

ps. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our 
xc. 12. hearts unto wisdom. 

Coming hastily into a chamber, I had almost thrown 
down a crystal hour-glass: fear lest I had, made me 
grieve as if I had broken it. But, alas! how much 
more precious time have I cast away without any 
regret ? The hour-glass was but crystal, each hour a 
pearl: that, but like to be broken— this, lost outright: 
that, but casually — this, done willfully, A better hour- 
glass might be bought; but time once lost is lost for- 

9 8 



Thoughts from My Library 



ever. Thus we grieve more for toys than for treasures. 
Lord, give me an hour-glass, not to be by me, but in 
me. Teach me the number of my days — an hour- 
glass to turn me — that I may apply my heart unto 
wisdom. FULLER. 

Every day is a little life; and our whole life is but a 
day repeated : whence it is that old Jacob numbers his 
life by days; and Moses desires to be taught this point 
of holy arithmetic, to number not his years, but his 
days. Those, therefore, that dare lose a day, are 
dangerously prodigal; those that dare misspend it, 
desperate. bishop hall. 

Ignorance and inoperative knowledge divide man- 
kind between them, and but a small remnant have let 
the truth plough deep into their inmost being and 
plant therein a holy fear of God. Therefore, the 
Psalmist prays for himself and his people, as knowing 
the temptations to inconsiderate disregard and to in- 
adequate feeling of God's opposition to sin, that His 
power would take untaught hearts in hand and teach 
them this — to count their days. Then we shall bring 
home as from a ripened harvest field, the best fruit 
which life can yield, " a heart of wisdom," which, 
having learned the power of God's anger, and the 
number of our days, turns itself to the eternal dwell- 
ing-place and no more is sad, when it sees life ebbing 
away, or the generations moving in unbroken suc- 
cession into the darkness. McLaren. 

Thou shalt tread upon the Hon and adder : the young ps. 

lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. xci. 13. 

Let us not be afraid of Satan. We may be but as 
atoms in the feet of Christ, but even then we are above 

99 



One Thousand and One 



the devil, for it is written that God has put all things 
under His feet. Let us not look up at Satan from be- 
low, but descend on him from above. He matched 
his power against Christ and failed, and he will fare 
similarly in conflict with all those in whom Christ 

dwells. F. B. MEYER. 

mm ps. To shew forth thy loving-kindness in the morning and 
xcn. 2. fay faithfulness every night. 

Prayer is the key of the morning and the bolt of the 
evening. 

ps. To-day, if ye will hear Ms voice. 
xcv. 7. a sculptor once showed a visitor his studio. It was 
full of gods. One was very curious. The face was 
concealed by being covered with hair, and there were 
wings on each foot. 

"What is his name?" said the spectator. 
"Opportunity," was the reply. 
"Why is his face hidden ? " 

" Because men seldom know him when he comes to 
them." 

" Why has he wings on his feet ? " 
" Because he is soon gone, and once gone can never 
be overtaken." 

ps. To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your 
xcv. heart. 

7' It is a solemn thing to say to-morrow when God 
says to-day; for man's to-morrow and God's to-day 
never meet. The word that comes from the eternal 
throne is "now," and it is a man's own choice that 
fixes his doom. duncan mathieson. 

On a winter evening, when the frost is setting in 
100 



Thoughts from My Library 



with growing intensity, and when the sun is now far 
past the meridian, and gradually sinking in the west- 
ern sky, there is a double reason why the ground grows 
every moment harder and more impenetrable to the 
plough. On the one hand, the frost of evening, with 
ever increasing intensity, is indurating the stiffening 
clods: on the other hand, the genial rays which alone 
can soften them are every moment withdrawing and 
losing their enlivening power. Take heed that it be 
not so with you. As long as you are unconverted, 
you are under a double process of hardening. The 
frosts of an eternal night are settling down upon your 
souls; and the Sun of Righteousness, with westering 
wheei, is hastening to set upon you forevermore. If, 
then, the plough of grace cannot force its way into 
your ice-bound heart to-day, what likelihood is there 
that it will enter to-morrow ? mccheyne. 

He cometh to judge the earth. ps. 

You may dim the surface of the glass, so that it xcvl * 
shall no longer be painfully bright, like a little sun l 3' 
lying on the ground; but your puny operation does not 
extinguish the great light that glows in heaven. Thus 
to trample conscience in the mire, so that it shall no 
longer reflect God's holiness, does not discharge holi- 
ness from the character of God. He will come to 
judge the world, although the world madly silence the 
witnesses who tell of His coming. arnot. 

Moses and Aaron . . . called upon the Lord and ps. 

he answered them. xcix.6. 

Ejaculatory prayer is like the rope of a belfry — the 
bell is in one room, and the handle or the end of the 
rope which sets it ringing in another. Perhaps the 

101 



One Thousand and One 



bell will not be heard in the apartment where the rope 
is, but it is heard in its own apartment. Moses laid 
hold of the rope and pulled it hard on the shore of the 
Red Sea, and though no one heard or knew anything 
of it in the lower chamber, the bell rang loudly in the 
upper one till the whole place was moved, and the 
Lord said: " Wherefore criest thou unto me ? " And 
"the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the 
Egyptians." Williams. 

ps. Serve the Lord with gladness. 

2 ' God wants our life to be a song. He has written 
the music for us in His Word and in the duties that 
come to us in our places and relations in life. The 
things we ought to do are the notes set upon the staff. 
To make our life beautiful music we must be obedi- 
ent and submissive. Any disobedience is the singing 
of a false note and yields discord. J. R. miller. 

ps. / will sing of mercy and judgment. 
lm Like two streams which unite their separate waters 
to form a common river, justice and mercy are com- 
bined in the work of redemption. Like the two cher- 
ubim whose wings met above the ark; like the two 
devout and holy men who drew the nails from Christ's 
body, and bore it to the grave; like the two angels 
who received it in charge, and, seated like mourners 
within the sepulchre (the one at the head, the other at 
the feet), kept silent watch over the precious treas- 
ure, — justice and mercy are associated in the work of 
Christ. They are the supporters of the shield on which 
the cross is emblazoned; they sustain the arms of our 
heavenly Advocate; they form the two solid and eter- 
nal pillars of the Mediator's throne. On Calvary, 

102 



Thoughts from My Library 



mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and 
peace embrace each other. guthrie. 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his ps. 
benefits. cnl - 2 - 

All eyes see God's benefits, but few see God. 

MARK GUY PEARSE. 

It is said that once when Sir Michael Costa was hav- 
ing a rehearsal, with a vast array of performers and 
hundreds of voices, as the mighty chorus rang out 
with thunder of the organ, and roll of drums, and 
ringing horns, and cymbals clashing, some one man 
who played the piccolo far away up in some corner, 
said within himself, "In all this din it matters not what 
I do " ; and so he ceased to play. Suddenly the great 
conductor stopped, flung up his hands, and all was 
still — and then he cried aloud, "Where is the piccolo! " 
The quick ear missed it, and all was spoiled because 
it failed to take its part. O my soul, do thy part with 
all thy might! Little thou mayest be, insignificant and 
hidden, and yet God seeks thy praise. He listens for 
it, and all the music of His great universe is made 
richer and sweeter because thou givest Him thanks. 
Bless the Lord, O my soul. mark guy pearse. 

Who forgiveth all thine imquities=the Guilt of Sin. ps. 
Who healeth all thy diseases=\\\t Stain of Sin. ciii. 
Who redeemeth thy life from destructwn=the Power 3> 4- 

Of Sin. DRUMMOND. 

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he re- ps. 

moved our transgressions from us. ciii. 12. 

If God has buried my sins, there let them lie, in that 
sepulchre with a great stone upon the mouth of it 

m 



One Thousand and One 



which none can roll away, sealed with God's own seal 
whereon is graven a cross encircled with the blessed 
words : Thy sins are forgiven thee. 

MARK GUY PEARSE. 

p s- He led them forth by the right way that they might go 
7' to a city of habitation. 

Each of us has his Gilgal, and his Bethel, and then 
his Jordan. His Gilgal, where at the beginning of life 
God summons him to His work, crowns and endows 
him for it, tries him; and if he fails, takes it from him, 
and gives it to a better. His Bethel, when God visits 
the young soul, and gives it His assurance of provision, 
His smile of welcome, His sense of protection, His 
promise of fatherly love, and then sends it on. His 
Jordan, the end of life, whether long or short, bright 
or dull, defeat or victory, shame or glory, whether ap- 
proached suddenly or seen from afar, whether rec- 
ognized with a shudder of fear or welcomed as the 
thought of home. bishop thorold. 

mm ps. He satisfieth the longing soul. 

You may as soon fill a bag with wisdom, a chest 
with virtue, or a circle with a triangle, as the heart of 
man with anything here below. A man may have 
enough of the world to sink him, but he can never 
have enough to satisfy him. t. brooks. 

They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business 
in great waters ; these see the works of the Lord and 
his wonders in the deep. 

How true is this! and yet our coward hearts do so 
shrink from those "great waters"! We prefer carry- 
ing on our traffic in the shallows, and, as a result, we 

104 



PS. 

cvii. 
23, 24. 



Thoughts from My Library 



fail to see "the works" and "wonders" of our God; 
for these can only be seen and known " in the deep." 

c. h. Mcintosh. 

Thy mercy is great above the heavens. ps. 

O this mercy of God! I am told it is like an ocean. cvii i-4- 
Then I place on it four swift-sailing craft, with com- 
pass, and charts, and choice rigging, and skillful navi- 
gators, and I tell them to launch away, and discover 
for me the extent of this ocean. That craft puts out 
in one direction, and sails to the north; this to the 
south; this to the east; this to the west. They crowd 
on all their canvas, and sail ten thousand years, and 
one day come up the harbor of heaven, and I shout to 
them from the beach, "Have you found the shore ?" 
and they answer, "No shore to God's mercy! " Swift 
angels, dispatched from the throne, attempt to go 
across it. For a million years they fly and fly, but 
then come back and fold their wings at the foot of 
the throne, and cry, "No shore! no shore to God's 
-mercy!" talmage. 

/ give myself unto prayer. ps. 

The godly man's prayers are his best biography, his C1X * 4- 
most exact portrait. 

// is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence ps. 

in man. cxviii. 

g 

The Scripture is the sun; the church is the clock. 
The sun we know to be sure and regularly constant in 
his motions; the clock, as it may fall out, may go too 
fast or too slow. As then, we should condemn him 
of folly that should profess to trust the clock rather 
than the sun, so we cannot but justly tax the credulity 

105 



One Thousand and One 



of those who would rather trust to the church than to 
the Scripture. bishop hall. 

ps. With my whole heart have I sought thee. 
cxix. p e w h 0 Uy given to God, then you too shall live in 
the light, as He is in the light. The warmth of His 
love shall fill your emotions with its glow, and teach 
you the art of love; the light of His truth shall banish 
obscurity and ignorance from your mind, and endow 
it with direct and certain knowledge ; the ray of His 
presence shall inspire you with strength, vigor, elas- 
ticity, immortal youth. Where sunshine is, there is 
life, health, gladness, vigorous strength. 

F. B. MEYER. 

ps. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous 
cxix. things out of thy law. 

1 ' Let me suppose a person to have a curious cabinet, 
which is opened at his pleasure, and not exposed to 
common view. He invites all to come and see it, and 
offers to show it to any one who asks him. It is hid, 
because he keeps the key, but none can complain, be- 
cause he is ready to open it whenever he is desired. 
Some, perhaps, disdain the offer, and say, "Why is 
it locked at all?" Some think it is not worth seeing, 
or amuse themselves with guessing at the contents. 
But those who are simply desirous for themselves, 
leave others disputing, go according to appointment, 
and are gratified. These have reason to be thankful 
for the favor, and the others have no just cause to find 
fault. Thus the riches of Divine grace may be com- 
pared to a richly-furnished cabinet to which "Christ 
is the door." The Word of God likewise is a cabinet 
generally locked up, but the key of prayer will open 

1 06 



Thoughts from My Library 



it. The Lord invites all, but He keeps the dispensa- 
tion in His own hand. They cannot see these things, 
except He shows them; but then He refuses none that 
sincerely ask Him. The wise men of the world can 
go no further than the outside of this cabinet; they 
may amuse themselves and surprise others with their 
ingenius guesses at what is within; but a child that 
has seen it opened can give us satisfaction, without 
studying or guessing at all. If men will presume to 
aim at the knowledge of God, without the knowledge 
of Christ, Who is the way and the door; if they have 
such a high opinion of their own wisdom and pene- 
tration as to suppose they can understand the Scrip- 
tures without the assistance of His Spirit; or, if their 
worldly wisdom teaches them that those things are 
not worth their inquiring, what wonder is it that they 
should continue to be hid from their eyes ? 

NEWTON. 

Thy testimonies . . . are . . . my counsellors. 

Boleslaus, one of the kings of Poland, carried about 
him the picture of his father; and when he was to do 
any great work, or set about any extraordinary design, 
he would look on the picture, and pray that he might 
do nothing unworthy of such a father's name. The 
Scriptures are the picture of God's will. Before a man 
engages in any business whatsoever, let him look there, 
and read what is to be done, and what to be omitted. 

Give me understanding. ps. 

Prayer is a proper means for the increase of knowl- ™ 
edge. Prayer is the golden key that unlocks that 
treasure. When Daniel was to expound the secret 
contained in the king's dream, about which the Chal- 

107 



PS. 

cxix. 
24. 



One Thousand and One 



dean magicians had racked their brains to no purpose; 
what course did Daniel take? "He went to his 
house," Dan. ii. 17, 18, "and made the thing known 
to Hananiah, Michael, and Azariah, his companions; 
that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven 
concerning his secret." And then was the secret re- 
vealed to Daniel. flavel. 

Make me to go in the path of thy commandments. 
The path of fellowship — with God. 
The path of holiness — before God. 
The path of obedience — after God. 

Before I was afflicted I went astray ; but now have I 
kept thy word. 

An old Puritan said, "God's people are like birds; 
they sing best in cages, they sing best when in the 
deepest trouble." Said old Master Brooks, "The 
deeper the flood was, the higher the ark went up to 
heaven." So it is with the child of God: the deeper 
his troubles the nearer to heaven he goeth, if he lives 
close to his Master. Troubles are called weights; and 
a weight, you know, generally cloggeth and keepeth 
down to the earth ; but there are ways, by the use of 
the laws of mechanics, by which you can make a 
weight lift you; and so it is possible to make your 
troubles lift you nearer heaven instead of making them 
sink you. Ah! we thank our God, He has sometimes 
opened our mouth when we were dumb; when we 
were ungrateful, and did not praise Him, He has 
opened our mouth by a trial ; and though when we 
had a thousand mercies we did not bless Him, when 
He sent a sharp affliction, then we began to bless Him. 

SPURGEON. 

108 



Thoughts from My Library 



PS. 



Often our trials act as a thorn-hedge to keep us in 
the good pasture; but our prosperity is a gap through 
which we go astray. spurgeon. 

// is good for me that I have been afflicted. 

The air from the sea of affliction is extremely bene- cxlx - 
ficial to invalid Christians. Continued prosperity, like 7 1 " 
a warm atmosphere, has a tendency to unbind the 
sinews and soften the bones; but the cold winds of 
trouble make us sturdy, hardy, and well-braced in 
every part. Unbroken success often leads to an un- 
dervaluing of mercies, and forgetfulness of the giver; 
but the withdrawal of the sunshine leads us to look- 
for the sun. spurgeon. 

Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. ps. 

The balances of God never lose their adjustment. CX1X - 
With them, a pound is a pound, and right is right, and 9- 
wrong is wrong, and a soul is a soul, and eternity is 
eternity. talmage. 

/ have more understanding than all my teachers ; for ps. 

thy testimonies are my meditation. cxix. 

O young man! build thy studio on Calvary; there 99- 
raise thine observatory, and scan by faith the lofty 
things of Nature. Take thee a hermits cell in the 
garden of Gethsemane, and lave thy brow with the 
waters of Siloa. Let the Bible be thy standard classic, 
thy last appeal in matters of contention ; let its light 
be thine illumination: and thou shalt become more 
wise ihan Plato, more truly learned than the seven 
sages of antiquity. spurgeon. 

Thy testimonies are my meditation. ps. 
Meditation is prayer's handmaid, to wait on it both *r* lx ' 
109 



One Thousand and One 



CXIX 

105 



before and after the performance. It is as the plough 
before the sower to prepare the heart for the duty of 
prayer, and the harrow to cover the seed when 'tis 
sown. As the hopper feeds the mill with grist, so 
does meditation supply the heart with matter for 
prayer. gurnall. 

ps. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my 
path. 

In joy and sorrow, in health and in sickness, in 
poverty and in riches, in every condition of life, God 
has a promise stored up in His Word for you. If you 
are impatient, sit down quietly and commune with 
Job. If you are strong-headed, read of Moses and 
Peter. If you are weak-kneed, look at Elijah. If there 
is no song in your heart, listen to David. If you are a 
politician, read Daniel. If you are getting sordid read 
Isaiah. If you are chilly, read of the beloved disciple. 
If your faith is low, read Paul. If you are getting lazy, 
watch James. If you are losing sight of the future, 
read in Revelation of the promised land. moody. 

ps. Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever. 

It is said of some mines of Cornwall, that the deeper 
they are sunk the richer they prove ; and though some 
lodes have been followed a thousand and even fifteen 
hundred feet, they have not come to an end. Such is the 
Book of God. It is a mine of wealth which can never 
be exhausted. The deeper we sink into it the richer 
it becomes. c. graham. 

ps. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe. 



cxix 
1 1 1 



cxix 



Do not spoil the chime of this morning's bells by 
1 1 7' ringing only half a peal! Do not say, " Hold thou me 
up," and stop there, or acid, " Buf all the same, I 

1 10 



Thoughts from My Library 



PS. 

cxix. 
129. 



shall stumble and fall!" Finish the peal with God's 
own music, the bright words of faith that He puts into 
your mouth, " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe! " 

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 

Thy testimonies are wonderful. 

Some look upon the Bible as a garden of spices, in 
which you may walk, and at your leisure pluck the 
flowers and gather the fruits of the Eden of God. But 
this does not accord with my experience. I have 
found it more like a mine, in which you must dig and 
labor, the wealth of which is not to be obtained with- 
out labor, — a mine rich in gold and precious things, 
but it must be wrought day and night in order to pro- 
duce them. j. todd. 

Unto thee lift I up mine eyes. ps. 

If you want to be wretched, look within. If you cxxm - 

want to be distracted and fearful, look around. If *' 
you want to be peaceful and happy, look up. 

Hun which divided the Red sea into parts . . . ps. 
and made Israel to pass through the midst of it cxxxvi 
. . . but overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts. l 3> l 4> 

The way through the Red Sea was safe enough for 
Israel, but not for Pharaoh; he had no business to go 
that way, it was a private road that God had opened 
up for His own family. thomas rhys davies. 

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. ps. 

There is a tradition that the descendants of Seth lived cxxxix 
on the summit of so lofty a mountain as to be able to 
hear and join in the song of the heavenly host. 

The Bible is that mountain. Its peak pierces beyond 
the clouds into the sublimest elevations and atmos- 

1 1 1 



One Thousand and One 



17. 



pheres. Where the Word of God ends, Heaven be- 
gins. The conceptions of things, human and divine, 
found herein surpass in grandeur and magnificence all 
the dreams of the ages and of the sages. 

A. T. PIERSON. 

ps. How precious . . . are thy thoughts unto me, O 
™ x God. 

The book of Nature is an expression of the thoughts 
of God. We have God's terrible thoughts in the thun- 
der and lightning; God's loving thoughts in the sun- 
shine and the breeze; God's bounteous, prudent, care- 
ful thoughts in the waving harvest. We have God's 
brilliant thoughts, which are beheld from mountain- 
top and valley; and we have God's most sweet and 
pleasant thoughts of beauty in the little flowers that 
blossom at our feet. spurgeon. 

When a holy thought lights suddenly upon you, 
which hath no connection with any antecedent busi- 
ness in your mind, receive it as a messenger from 
heaven, and the rather because it is a stranger. You 
know not but you may entertain an angel — yea, even 
the Holy Spirit. charnock. 



ps. Search me, O God, and know my heart. 
cxxxix j f tJl0U ^esirest Christ for a perpetual guest, give 
Him all the keys of thine heart; let not one cabinet be 
locked up from Him; give Him the range of every 
room, and the key of every chamber; thus you will 
constrain Him to remain. spurgeon. 

ps. / said, Thou art my . . . portion. 
cxlii.5. you will never possess any more of Christ than you 
claim as your own. webb-peploe. 

1 12 



Thoughts from My Library 



/ am thy servant ps. 

Every day let us renew the consecration to God's cx ^ 
service; every day let us in His strength, pledge our- 
selves afresh to do His will, even in the veriest trifle, 
and to turn aside from anything that may displease 
Him. ... He does not bid us bear the burdens of 
to-morrow, next week, or next year. Every day we 
are to come to Him in simple obedience and faith, ask- 
ing help to keep us, and aid us through that day's 
work; and to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-mor- 
row, through years of long to-morrows, it will be but 
the same thing to do; leaving the future always in 
God's hands, sure that He can care for it better than 
we. Blessed trust! that can thus confidingly say: 
"This hour is mine with its present duty, the rest is 
God's, and when it comes, His presence will come 

With it." MADAM GUYON. 



Happy is that people whose God is the Lord. ps. 

There is no man so happy as the Christian. When cx ' 
he looks up unto heaven, he thinks, ''That is my 
home; the God that made it and owns it is my Father; 
the angels, more glorious in nature than myself, are 
my attendants; mine enemies are my vassals." Yea, 
those things which are the terriblest of all to the 
wicked are most pleasant to him. When he hears 
God thunder above his head, he thinks, "This is the 
voice of my Father." When he remembereth the tri- 
bunal of the last judgment, he thinks, "It is my 
Saviour that sits in it"; when death, he esteems it 
but as the angel set before Paradise, which, with one 
blow, admits him to eternal joy. And (which is most 
of all) nothing in earth or hell can make him miser- 

**3 



One Thousand and One 



cxlv 



able. There is nothing in the world worth envying, 
but a Christian. bishop hall. 

ps. Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. 

The old Britons whom we English conquered and 
drove out of the land fifteen hundred years ago — they 
had their fable for a long time which gave them hope 
— how their great King Arthur was not really dead, 
but slept a charmed sleep in the Isle of Avalon — and 
how he should awake at last to set them free and rule 
righteously over the land. That was but a fable, and 
has come to nought; but still it was true to the best 
instincts of human nature, true to the image of God, 
Whose kingdom shall one day come, and His will be 
done on earth as it is in heaven. kingsley. 

ps. The Lord lifteth up the meek. 
cxlvn. q^j ^ QW f ew ^ j 1QW rare are mose me ek ones! Am 

I one of them, O Lord ? Am I quite content to be 
overlooked in the day when Thou distributest honors 
on the earth ? Am I willing to be made of no account ? 
Is my chief ambition to be useful, eminently but not 
ostensibly useful ? And if I get this spirit one day, 
does it abide with me ? Do I not find myself coming 
into new circumstances where my mean estate troubles 
me ? And through some insidious suggestion does 
there arise impatience of God's depressing providence ? 
Thou Who art meek and lowly of heart, teach me to 
be meek, give me a meekness that shall pass through 
every ordeal. bowen. 



ps. Who covereth the heaven with clouds. 
cxlvii. most wonderful of God's visible creations are 

still wrought out in cloud; what landscapes, cities, 

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Thoughts from My Library 



temples, forests, minarets of snow, and palaces fit for 
heavenly kings, are to be found in the clouds! 

JOSEPH PARKER. 

The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him. ps. 

If this world should resolve to send an embassy to cxlvii. 
the most high God, whom would it choose? The 
princes of this world would be represented by the 
brother of some czar, or the nephew of some emperor. 
The bishops and high clergy would be represented by 
some legate of ample wealth. The literary world 
would send some Goethe, or Confucius, or Plato. The 
merchants would send a Rothschild. . The artists a 
Raphael. There would be an ermined judge and a dec- 
orated physician. The military would send a Hanni- 
bal, the transcendentalists a Kant. All orders would 
be represented. But if, as the servant of some one of 
this company, a meek and lowly Christian might ob- 
tain permission to go, this one alone of all the com- 
pany would be permitted to enter the audience-cham- 
ber of God. He taketh pleasure in such, not in the 
wise, the noble, the wealthy, the mitred. "The Lord 
taketh pleasure in His people." bo wen. 

Stormy wind fulfilling his word. ps. 

One day by God's great mercy, we shall stand upon cxlviii. 
the sea of glass, having the harps of God, and having " 
gotten victory : then shall we sing the song of Moses, the 
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Just and 
true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." We shall 
know then how the stormy winds have wrought out 
our deliverance. Now you see only the mystery of 
this great sorrow; then you shall see how the threaten- 
ing enemy was swept away in the wild night of fear 

»5 



One Thousand and One 



and grief. Now you look only at the loss ; then you 
shall see how it struck at the evil that had begun to 
rivet its fetters upon you. Now you shrink from the 
howling winds and muttering thunders; then you 
shall see how they beat back the waters of destruction 
and opened up your way to the goodly land of 
promise. mark guy pearse. 

prov. The prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 
1. 32. Prosperity is like salt water: the more you drink of 
it the thirstier you are. talmage. 

prov. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct 
iii. 6. thy paths. 

An artist painted a picture of a little child in the 
dress of a pilgrim. He is walking slowly along a nar- 
row path. This path has on each side of it a dreadful 
precipice. The edges of these precipices are hidden 
from view by means of beautiful flowers that are 
growing there. Behind the child is an angel. His 
face is full of tenderness and love. His hands are 
resting lightly on the shoulders of the child, to keep 
him in the centre of the path. The child has closed 
his eyes, that the sight of the flowers may not tempt 
him into danger. He is walking carefully along, feel- 
ing, and yielding to the gentle touch of the angel that 
is leading him. He acknowledges the angel by fol- 
lowing his touch, and while he does this the angel 
"directs his paths." R. newton. 

In all thy ways. In thy worship. In thy study of 
His word. In thy intercourse with His people. In 
thy traffic with the world. In thy business and in thy 
recreation. At thy meals. In thy correspondence. In 

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Thoughts from My Library 



thy reading. In thy dress. What! In all these petty 
matters ? Yes ! In all thy ways, Thinkest thou that 
God will have no word for thee on such topics ? Be 
undeceived. Thou shalt find a revelation of the will 
of God for every one of thy paths. There is no need 
for thee to ever let go His hand. Not a single hair of 
thy head receives its aliment without Him. Why then 
should a single step be taken without Him ? 

BOWEN. 

The merchandise of {wisdom) is better than . . . prov. 
silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. iii- i4« 

Capital is not what a man has, but what he is. 

Character is capital; honor is capital. macduff. 

The Lord shall be thy confidence. prov. 

Though the mariner sees not the pole-star, yet the 
needle of the compass which points to it tells him 
which way he sails; thus the heart that is touched 
with the loadstone of divine love, trembling with 
godly fear, and yet still looking toward God by fixed 
believing, interprets the fear by the love in the fear, 
and tells the soul that its course is heavenward, toward 
the haven of eternal rest. leighton. 

The path of the just is as the shining light, that prov. 

shineth more and more unto the perfect day. iv. 18. 

Have I begun this path of heavenly love and knowl- 
edge now ? Am I progressing in it ? Do I feel some 
dawnings of the heavenly light, — earnests and ante- 
pasts of the full day of glory? Let all God's dealings 
serve to quicken me in my way. Let every affliction 
it may please Him to send, be as the moving pillar- 
cloud of old, beckoning me to move my tent onward, 

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One Thousand and One 



saying, "Arise ye, and depart, for this is not your 
rest." Let me be often standing now on faith's lofty 
eminences, looking for "the day of God" — the rising 
sun which is to set no more in weeping clouds. 
Wondrous progression! How will all earth's learn- 
ing, — its boasted acquirements and eagle-eyed phi- 
losophy, — sink into the lispings of very infancy in com- 
parison with this manhood of knowledge! Heaven 
will be the true "Excelsior." Its song, 11 A song of 
degrees"; Jesus leading His people from height to 
height of glory, and saying, as He said to Nathaniel, 
" Thou shalt see greater things than these" 

MACDUFF. 

To-day it is fair, the next day there may be the 
thundering storm: to-day I may want for nothing; to- 
morrow I may be like Jacob, with nothing but a stone 
for my pillow and the heavens for my curtains. But 
what a happy thought it is! — though we know not 
where the road winds, we know where it ends. It is 
the straightest way to heaven to go round about. 
Israel's forty years' wanderings were, after all, the 
nearest path to Canaan. We may have to go through 
trial and affliction; the pilgrimage may be a tiresome 
one, but it is safe. We cannot trace the river upon 
which we are sailing; but we know it ends in Hoods of 
bliss at last. We cannot track the roads ; but we know 
that they all meet in the great metropolis of heaven, in 
the centre of God's universe. God help us to pursue 
the true pilgrimage of a pious life! spurgeon. 

prov. Keep thy heart with all diligence ; for out of it are the 
iv. 23. issues of life. 

The heart of man is a furnace continually burning. 
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If thou wilt nourish it with meditations of the love of 
God, there will appear a bright flame of love to God 
and man; but if thou maintain it with thoughts of 
self-love, then it will be full of vile smoke, stench, 
and darkness. cawdray. 

You have seen the great reservoirs provided by our 
water companies, in which the water which is to 
supply hundreds of streets and thousands of houses is 
kept. Now, the heart is just the reservoir of man, and 
our life is allowed to flow in its proper season. That 
life may flow through different pipes — the mouth, the 
hand, the eye; but still all the issues of hand, of eye, 
of lip, derive their source from the great fountain and 
central reservoir, the heart; and hence there is no 
difficulty in showing the great necessity for keeping 
this reservoir, the heart, in a proper state and condition, 
since otherwise, that which flows through the pipes 
must be tainted and corrupt. spurgeon. 

Pride . . . do I hate. prov. 

The difference between pride and vanity is that we y iii- l 3- 
have one and other people have the other. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and prov. 
the knowledge of the holy is understanding. lx - I0 - 

He is the best grammarian who has learned to speak 
the truth from his heart; the best astronomer who has 
conversation in heaven; the best musician who has 
learned to sing the praise of his God; the best arith- 
metician who so numbers his 'days as to apply his 
heart to wisdom. He is knowing in ethics who trains 
up his family in the fear of the Lord; he is the best 
economist who is wise to salvation, prudent in giving 

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One Thousand and One 



and taking good counsel; he is the best politician and 
he is a good linguist, that speaks the language of 
Canaan. spencer. 

prov. Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not he un- 
xl - 21 • punished. 

He that is not afraid of sinning has good need to be 
afraid of damning. spurgeon. 



prov. 
xi. 25. 



PROV. 

xi. 25. 



PROV. 

xiii.20. 



PROV. 

xiv. 8. 



PROV. 

xv. 8. 



The liberal soul shall he made fat. 

Such was Hannah's experience. She gave away 
one child, and God paid her back with five. 

GUTHRIE. 

He that water eth shall he watered also himself. 

The effective life and the receptive life are one. No 
sweep of arm that does some work for God, but 
harvests also some more of the truth of God, and 
sweeps it into the treasury of life, phillips brooks. 

He that walheth with wise men shall be wise. 

The tree-frog acquires the color of whatever it ad- 
heres to for a short time. If it be found on the oak, 
it is a brown color; on the sycamore or cedar it is of a 
whitish-brown color; but, when found on the grow- 
ing corn, it is sure to be green. So a man is sure to 
be influenced by those with whom he associates. 

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way. 

My daily task whate'er it be, 
That is what mainly educates me. 

The prayer of the upright is his delight. 

The bank-note without a signature at the bottom, is 
nothing but a worthless piece of paper. The stroke of 
a pen confers on it all its value. The prayer of a poor 

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child of Adam is a feeble thing in itself, but once en- 
dorsed by the hand of the Lord Jesus, it avaiieth much. 
There was an officer in the city of Rome who was ap- 
pointed to have his doors always open, in order to re- 
ceive any Roman citizen who applied to him for help. 
Just so the ear of the Lord Jesus is ever open to the 
cry of all who want mercy and grace. It is His office 
to help them. Their prayer is His delight. Reader, 
think of this. Is not this encouragement ? ryle. 

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to prov. 
the Lord. xvi - 5- 

Naturalists find it much less easy to teach a moun- 
tain-flower to accommodate itself to a low locality 
than to get one which by birth belongs to the valleys 
to live and thrive at a lofty elevation. So there seems 
nothing more difficult to men than to descend grace- 
fully. How few who have- been accustomed to a high 
position in society are able to reconcile themselves to a 
humble one! . . . So it is with us in our low and 
lost estate. Spiritually poor, we are spiritually proud, 
saying, "I am rich, and increased in goods, and have 
need of nothing;" while we are "wretched and mis- 
erable and poor and blind and naked." Even when we 
are in some degree sensible of our poverty, and know 
we cannot pay, like the unjust steward, we are 
ashamed to beg. Indulging a pride out of all keeping 
"with filthy rags," we will not stoop to stand at 
God's door, poor mendicants, who ask for mercy. 

GUTHRIE. 

He that ruleth his spirit (is better) than he that taketh a PRO v. 
city. xvi. 
Men are always wanting to do some great thing. 3 2 - 
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One Thousand and One 



PROV. 

xviii. 
1 6. 



PROV. 

xxii. 6. 



PROV. 

xxiii. 
7- 



Let them overcome themselves, for that is the greatest 
conquest. drummond. 

A mans gift maketh room for him. 

Nothing hides a blemish so completely as cloth of 
gold. HARE. 

Train up a child in the way he should go. 

The heathen mother takes her babe to the idol tem- 
ple, and teaches it to clasp its little hands before its 
forehead, in the attitude of prayer, long before it can 
utter a word. As soon as it can walk, it is taught to 
gather a few flowers or fruits, or put a little rice upon 
a banana-leaf, and lay them upon the altar before the 
idol god. As soon as it can utter the names of its 
parents, so soon it is taught to offer up its petitions be- 
fore the images. Who ever saw a heathen child that 
could speak, and not pray ? Christian mothers, why 
is it that so many children grow up in this enlightened 
land without learning to pray ? 

As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. 

What you love, what you desire, what you think 
about, you are photographing, printing, on the walls 
of your immortal nature. And just as to-day, thou- 
sands of years after the artists have been gathered to 
the dust, we may go into Egyptian temples and see the 
figures on their walls, in all the freshness of their first 
coloring, as if the painter had but laid down his pencil 
a moment ago, so, on your hearts, youthful evils, the 
sins of your childhood, the misdeeds of your earliest 
days, may live ugly shapes, that no tears and no re- 
pentance will ever wipe out. Nothing can do away 
with "the marks of that which once hath been." 

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What are you painting on the chambers of imagery in 
your hearts ? . . . Everything which you do leaves 
its effect with you forever, just as long-forgotten meals 
are in your blood and bones to-day. Every act that a 
man performs has printed itself upon his soul; it has 
become a part of himself ; and, though, like a newly- 
painted picture, after a little while the colors go in, 
why is that ? Only because they have entered into the 
very fibre of the canvas, and have left the surface be- 
cause they are incorporated with the substance, and 
they want but a touch of varnish to flash out again. 

MACLAREN. 

See that each hour's feelings and thoughts and 
actions are pure and true; then will your life be such. 
The wide pasture is but separate spears of grass; the 
sheeted bloom of the prairies but isolated flowers. 

BEECHER. 

Holy thoughts in the heart have also a transfiguring 
influence on the life. 

J. R. MILLER. 

Buy the truth, and sell it not. prov. 

Buy the truth whatever it may cost; sell it not what- xxiii. 
ever may be offered. arnot. 2 3- 



prov. 



Give me thine heart. 

Give your heart to God and your life to earnest xxiii. 
work and loving purpose, and you can never live in 
vain. punshon. 

Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou know est not prov. 

what a day may bring forth. xxvii. 

Life's uncertainties give us a new hold upon the lm 
everlasting. mark guy pearse. 

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One Thousand and One 



The only preparation for the morrow is the right 
use of to-day. . . . The morrow comes for nought, 
if to-day is not heeded. bowen. 

prov. The fear of man bringeth a snare : but zvhoso putteth 

XX1X - his trust in the Lord shall be safe. 
25. 

We fear men so much because we fear God so little. 

GURNALL. 

eccl. One event happen eth to them all. 

When Severus, Emperor of Rome, found his end 
approaching, he cried out, "I have been everything; 
and everything is nothing." Then, ordering the urn 
to be brought to him in which his ashes were to be 
enclosed on his body being burned, he said, " Little 
urn, thou shalt contain one for whom the world was 
too little." 

To everything there is a season, and a time to every 
purpose under the sun. 
Real duties never interfere with each other. 

FINNEY. 

eccl. He hath made everything beautiful. 

1. 11. When men travel in stage coaches in grand moun- 
tain countries, some ride in the inside with the curtains 
fastened down. They see nothing of the beauty of 
the scenes through which they pass. Others ride out- 
side, and see every grand thing by the way. This 
illustrates the way different persons go through God"s 
world. Many pass through shut up inside a dark, 
dismal coach, with all the curtains drawn tight, them- 
selves shut in, and all of Gods jov and beauty shut 
out; others ride outside, and catch a glimpse of every 
fair and lovely thing by the way. They breathe the 

124 



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iii. 1. 



Thoughts from My Library 



fresh air, hear the joyous songs of the birds, see the 
fields, brooks, rivers, mountains and skies, and quaff 
delight everywhere. j. r. miller. 

Everything in the world must be in its true place and 
time, or it is not beautiful. . . . You lay your 
own stumbling-block in your own way. God made 
the block indeed, but He made it for a part of the 
strength and beauty of the walls. It was you who 
dragged it down to the floor and insisted upon laying 
it where you could stumble over it. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

/ know that there is no good in them, but for a man eccl. 

. . . to do good in his life. hi. 12. 

See that well on the mountain-side, — a small, rude, 
rocky cup full of crystal water, and that tiny rill flow- 
ing through a breach in its brim. The vessel is so di- 
minutive, that it could not contain a supply of water 
for a single family a single day. But ever getting 
through secret channels, and ever giving by an open 
overflow, day and night, summer and winter, from 
year to year, it discharges in the aggregate a volume 
to which its own capacity bears no appreciable pro- 
portion. The flow from that diminutive cup might, 
in a drought or war, become life to all the inhabitants 
of a city. It is thus that a Christian, if he is full of 
mercy and good fruits, is a greater blessing to the 
world than either himself or his neighbors deem. 

ARNOT. 

/ saw the wicked buried, who had come and gone from eccl. 
the place of the holy. via. 10. 

The saddest road to hell is that which runs under 
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the pulpit, past the Bible, and through the midst of 
warnings and invitations. ryle. 

eccl. // shall be well with them that fear God. 
vin. 12. ^ quiet modest word, but full of significance. The 
fear of God took Abraham to Mount Moriah, and it 
was well with him there. It was not the fear of God 
that took Lot to Sodom; it went not well with him 
there. The fear of God took Daniel into the lion's 
den, and the three Hebrews into the seven times heated 
furnace; they feared Him Who had the power to cast 
both soul and body into hell; and it was well with 
them. The Spirit of glory and of God resteth as a 
dove upon them that fear God; invisible to the world; 
telling of the new Jerusalem that cometh down from 
God out of heaven. bowen. 

eccl. The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the 
ix- 11 • strong. 

There is more chance for a cripple on the right road 
than for a racer on the wrong. 

eccl. Time . . . happeneth to them all. 
ix. ii. Time wasted is existence, used, is life. young. 

eccl. Cast thy bread upon the waters. 

XL l ' Sometimes the Nile overflows its banks, and the 
people throw the seed upon the water. As the water 
subsides, the seed strikes into the ground and comes 
up. Hence the allusion, "Cast thy bread upon the 
waters, and it will come back after many days." 
What you sow you will reap. talmage. 

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Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. eccl. 

I saw once, lying side by side in a great workshop, X1L l ' 
two heads made of metal. The one was perfect; all 
the features of a noble, manly face came out clear and 
distinct in their lines of strength and beauty; in the 
other, scarcely a single feature could be recognized; it 
was all marred and spoiled. "The metal had been 
let grow a little too cool, sir," said the man who was 
showing it to me. I could not help thinking how true 
that was of many a form more precious than metal. 
Many a young soul that might be stamped with the 
image and superscription of the King, while it is warm 
with the love and glow of early youth, is allowed to 
grow too cold, and the writing is blurred and the 
image is marred. canon teignmouth shore. 

Fear God and keep his commandments : for this is the eccl. 
whole duty of man. xii. 13 

Duties are ours, events are God's. This removes an 
infinite burden from the shoulders of a miserable, 
tempted, dying creature. On this consideration only, 
can he securely lay down his head, and close his eyes. 

CECIL. 

God shall bring every work into judgment. eccl. 

Just as the tiny shells make up the chalk hills, and X * L l 4 
the chalk hills together make up the range, so the 
trifling actions make up the whole account, and each 
of these must be pulled asunder separately. You had 
an hour to spare the other day — what did you do ? 
You had a voice — how did you use it ? You had a 
pen — you could use that — how did you employ it? 
Each particular shall be brought out, and there shall 
be demanded an account for each one. spurgeon. 

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One Thousand and One 



song The little foxes, that spoil the vines. 
of sol. when Pompey could not prevail with a city to billet 
1L his army with them, he persuaded them to admit of a 
few weak, maimed soldiers; but those soon recovered 
their strength, and opened the gates to the whole 
army. And thus is it that the devil courts us only to 
lodge some small sin — a sin of infirmity or two — 
which, being admitted, soon gathers strength and 
sinews, and so subdues us. price. 

The science of chemistry teaches us that a single 
grain of iodine will impart color to seven thousand 
times its weight of water. So one sin may affect the 
whole life, one false brick may cause the fall of the 
whole building. j. Harris. 

There are two ways of coming down from the top 
of a church-steeple: one is to jump down, and the 
other is to come down by the steps; but both will 
lead you to the bottom. So, also, there are two ways 
of going to hell: one is to walk into it with your eyes 
open (few people do that), the other is to go down by 
the steps of little sins; and that way, I fear, is only 
too common. Put up with a few little sins, and you 
will soon want a few more, (even a heathen could 
say, "Whoever was content with only one sin?") 
and then your course will be regularly worse and 
worse every year. The devil only wants to get the 
wedge of a little allowed sin into your hearts, and you 
will soon be all his own. Never play with fire; never 
trifle with little sins! ryle. 

song The smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. 
of sol. j n ^ a y S w j len the Mosque of Omar was first 

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built, over that spot of Moriah where the worshipper 
could touch a piece of the unhewn original rock of the 
hill, it was customary to bring loads of incense and all 
aromatic shrubs into the shrine, which was called 
Sakhrah. As a consequence, if any one from the city 
had been worshipping there, he carried away with 
him so much of the fragrance of the place, that when 
people passed him in the market-place of Jerusalem, 
or in the streets, they used to say to each other, " He 
has been in the Sakhrah to-day! " Would to God we 
thus lived, coming forth daily with our " garments" 
smelling of the "myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, from 
the ivory palaces." With fresh holiness every day 
drawn out of Christ, what witnesses for Him should 
we be! How joyfully should we listen to the loving 
voice that is ever calling, " Be ye holy, for I am holy " ; 
and He Who speaks thus would hasten to give us more 
and more when we repair to Him. bonar. 

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as is. 
snow. ( i- 

I have heard of a certain divine, that he used always 
to carry with him a little book. This tiny volume had 
only three leaves in it; and truth to tell, it contained 
not a single word. The first was a leaf of black paper, 
black as jet; the next was a leaf of red-scarlet; and 
the last was a leaf of white, without spot. Day by day 
he would look upon this singular book, and at last he 
told the secret of what it meant. He said, "Here is 
the black leaf, that is my sin, and the wrath of God 
which my sin deserves; I look and look, and think it 
is not half black enough to represent my guilt, though 
it is as black as black can be. The red leaf reminds 

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6, 7- 



vi. 8. 



me of the atoning sacrifice and the precious blood; 
and I delight to look at it, and weep, and look again. 
The white leaf represents my soul, as it is washed in 
Jesus' blood and made white as snow." spurgeon. 

is. Woe is me ! for I am undone, because I am a man of 
Y }- 5> unclean lips . . . Then flew one of the seraphim 
unto me . . . and said . . . Thine iniquity 
is taken away. 

Soon as the word is uttered, "I have sinned," that 
very moment flies the seraph. God "is faithful and 
just to forgive us our sins." When we confess them 
in the name of Jesus, justice, having been satisfied by 
the blood of Christ, is swift to pardon. 

is. Here am I. 

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do every- 
thing, but I can do something. What I can do, I 
ought to do, and what I ought to do, by the grace of 
God I will do. 

is. Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. 
xxvi. appoint walls and bulwarks for salvation; but 

God appoints salvation for walls and bulwarks. Sal- 
vation is often without walls and bulwarks, and walls 
and bulwarks without salvation. Salvation is the 
safer safeguard. Venning. 

is. Thou zvilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
xxvi. stayed on thee. 

3" The habit of reckoning on Christ is the key to a rest- 
ful life. F. B. MEYER. 

is. Their strength is to sit still. 
xxx. 7. The s tiH and quiet soul is like a ship that lies quiet 

130 



Thoughts from My Library 



in the harbor: you may take in what goods you please 
whilst the ship lies still. So, when the soul lies quiet 
under the hand of God, it is most fitted to take in 
much of God, of Christ, of heaven, of the promises, 
and of ordinances; but, when souls are unquiet, they 
are like a ship in a storm: they can take in nothing. 

BROOKS. 

In quietness and in confidence shall bey oar strength. 

In all the departments of life it is the quiet forces 
that effect most. The sunbeams fall all day long, si- 
lently, unheard by human ear; yet there is in them a 
wondrous energy and a great power for blessing and 
good. Gravitation is a silent force, with no rattle of 
machinery, no noise of engines, no clanking of chains, 
and yet it holds all the stars and worlds in their orbits 
and swings them through space with unvarying pre- 
cision. The dew falls silently at night when men 
sleep and yet it touches every plant and leaf and flower 
with new life and beauty. It is in the lightning, not 
in the thunder-peal, that the electric energy resides. 
Thus even in nature, strength lies in quietness and the 
mightiest energies work noiselessly. j. R. miller. 

God often encourages the weak in faith by giving 
speedy answers to prayer; but the strong in faith will 
be tested by God's delays. 

Sow beside all waters. 

Never mind whereabouts your work is. Never 
mind whether it be visible or no. Never mind 
whether your name is associated with it. You may 
never see the issues of your toils. You are working 
for eternity. ... If you cannot see results here 



One Thousand and One 



in the hot working day, the cool evening hours are 
drawing near, when you may rest from your labors, 
and then they will follow you. So do your duty, and 
trust God to give the seed you sow " a body as it hath 
pleased Him." McLaren. 

is. He shall dwell on high : his place of defense shall be 
xxxm. fj oe munitions of rocks. 

ID. 

I remember a story in Alexander's wars, that when 
he came to besiege the Sogdians, a people who dwelt 
upon a rock, or had the literal munition of rocks for their 
defence, they jeered him and asked him whether his 
soldiers had wings or no. " Unless your soldiers can 
fly in the air, we fear you not." It is a most certain 
truth, when God exalts a people, He can set them upon 
a rock so high that, unless their adversaries have 
wings, and those more than eagles' wings, to soar 
higher than God himself, they are beyond annoyance. 
He carries His own upon eagles' wings; what wings, 
then, must they have who get above His people. 

CARYL. 

is. Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read. 
xxxi v 

Do not think you are getting no good from the 
Bible, merely because you do not see that good day 
by day. The greatest effects are by no means those 
which make the most noise and are most easily ob- 
served. The greatest effects are often silent, quiet, 
and hard to detect at the time they are being pro- 
duced. Think of the influence of the moon upon the 
earth, and of the air upon the human lungs. Remem- 
ber how silently the dew falls, and how imperceptibly 
the grass grows. There may be far more doing than 
you think in your soul by your Bible-reading, ryle. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



The word of our God shall stand forever. is. 

The word of God is the water of life; the more ye x ^ ^' 
lave it forth, the fresher it runneth: it is the fire of 
God's glory; the more ye blow it, the clearer it burn- 
etii: it is the corn of the Lord's field; the better ye 
grind it, the more it yieldeth: it is the bread of heaven ; 
the more it is broken and given forth, the more it re- 
maineth: it is the sword of the Spirit; the more it is 
scoured, the brighter it shineth. bishop jewel. 

They that wait upon the Lord shall . . . mount is. 

up with wings as eagles. xl. 31. 

Yes, "they shall mount up with wings as eagles." 
You know what eagles' wings mean. The eagle is 
the king of birds, it soars the highest into the heavens. 
Believers are to live a heavenly life, in the very Pres- 
ence and Love and Joy of God. They are to live where 
God lives ; they need God's strength to rise there. To 
them that wait on Him it shall be given. 

You know how the eagle wings are obtained. Only 
in one way — by the eagle birth. You are born of God. 
You have the eagles' wings. You may not have 
known it: you may not have used them; but God can 
and will teach you to use them. andrew Murray. 

Fear thou not for I am with thee; be not dismayed, is. 

for I am thy God. xli. 10. 

Fear in all its forms is a kind of atheism. The man 
who is afraid has lost faith; he no longer believes in 
God. 

That which justifies courage in facing the possibili- 
ties of life is the conviction that its master is our Lord 
as well; that it is so framed that 4 'all things work to- 
gether for good " to those who are obedient to the 



I 

One Thousand and One 

laws of life; that our little plans are embraced in a 
greater and wiser plan; that "light is sown for the 
righteous." 

Many a man looks backward and thanks God for 
the events in his life which once seemed disastrous, 
but which, in the clearer light of time, disclose the 
beauty of noble opportunity. 

is. / will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteous- 
xli. 10. ness . 

If God bear us in His arms when we are children, 
yet when we are well grown He looks we should go 
on our own feet; it is enough that He upholds us, 
though He carry us not. bishop hall. 

is. / the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand. 
xli. 13. Don't try to hold God's hand; let Him hold yours. 
Let Him do the holding, and you do the trusting. 

WEBB-PEPLOE. 

is. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking 
x hi. 3- flax shall he not quench. 

He dost not wait until we are at our fairest and 
best. He stoops to help us at our deadest and dullest, 
our poorest and worst, when life is almost gone out 
and the fire is at its last spark. He can help us and 
keep us in the most trying circumstances, however 
bleak winds blow, whatever biting frosts come. A 
most gracious, gentle, pitiful Saviour is He, and as 
mighty as He is gentle. Press up to Him ; go on your 
way communing with Him. Cleave to Him, your 
Life; rest in Him, your loving Lord; exult in Him, 
your Almighty Saviour. mark guy pearse. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



/ have created him for my glory. is. 

God made you for an end. Find out what that end 
is; find out your niche, and fill it. If it be ever so lit- 
tle, if it is only to be a hewer of wood and drawer of 
water, do something in this great battle for God and 
truth. SPURGEON. 

This people have I formed for myself; they shall show is. 
forth my praise. x hii- 
I have read of an author, who, whilst he was writ- 
ing a book he was about to publish, would every now 
and then look back to the title to see if his work cor- 
responded thereto, and if it answered the expectation 
raised thereby. Now, the use I would make hereof, 
and would recommend to you, is for thee, O sinner, 
to look back every now and then, and consider for 
what thou wast created; and for thee, O saint, to look 
back every now and then, and consider for what thou 
wast redeemed. ashburner. 

Thou shall not be forgotten of me. is. 

He may leave you long without succor. He may x ^ v - 
allow you to toil against a tempestuous sea until the 21 ' 
fourth watch of the night. He may seem silent and 
austere, tarrying two days still in the same place, as if 
careless of the dying Lazarus. He may allow your 
prayers to accumulate like unopened letters on the 
table of an absent friend. But at last He will say: 
"O man, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee 
even as thou wilt." f. b. meyer. 

/ will give thee the treasures of darkness. is. 

If you can find no bright side in your trouble to look x ^ v * 
upon, polish up the dark one. 



One Thousand and One 



is. A just God and a Saviour. 
' V,2K When the Son of God was made of a woman, and 
made under the law, there was heard the most awful 
voice that ever was heard in the universe yet: "Awake, 
O sword! against the Man that is my fellow, and smite 
the shepherd," — smite him ! When there was a man in 
the world that was Jehovah's fellow, there was some one 
who could magnify the law, in smiting whom justice 
could obtain its demands. The sword of justice smote 
him, struck him, cut him. The sword of justice had a 
commission to smite the Man that was Jehovah's fel- 
low: it smote Him in Bethlehem; it smote Him all along 
the highway of His life, even to Calvary. On Calvary, 
the strokes of the sword fell heavy; the glances of that 
sword then darkened the sun; the strokes of the sword 
shook earth, shook hell ; it kept smiting and smiting the 
Man that was God's fellow, till at last He cried, "It is 
finished ! " Then the sword fell down at the foot of the 
cross, hushed, lulled, pacified: and it lay there till the 
third hallowed morning, when it was found changed 
into a sceptre of mercy; and that sceptre of mercy has 
been waving among mankind ever since. 

BEAUMONT. 

is. In the Lord have I . . . strength. 
v. 24. a believer's watchfulness is like that of a soldier. A 
sentinel posted on the walls, when he discerns a hostile 
party advancing, does not attempt to make head against 
them himself, but informs his commanding officer of 
the enemy's approach, and leaves him to take the proper 
measures against the foe. So the Christian does not 
attempt to fight temptation in his own strength; his 
watchfulness lies in observing its approach, and in 
telling God of It by prayer. w. mason. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



/ have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. is. 

It is a great help when passing through the fire to x ^ 11 - 
know that we are there because there is gold to be ex- 
tracted or silver to be refined as well as dross to purge 
away. el nathan. 

There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked. is. 

As the ant-hill, when stirred, sets in motion its liv- X ^ VH1 - 
ing insects in every direction, so the conscience of the 
sinner, disturbed by the Spirit or judgments of God, 
calls up before its vision thousands of deeds which fill 
the soul with agony and woe. m'cosh. 

My God shall be my strength. is. 

Give what Thou commandest, and then command x ^ x - 5- 
what Thou wilt. augustine. 

Zion said, The Lord, hath forsaken me, and my Lord is. 
hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her such- xnx - 
ing child, that she should not have compassion on ! 5- 
the son of her womh ? yea, they may forget, yet will I 
not forget thee. 

God's promises are dated, but with a mysterious 
character; and, for want of skill in God's chronology, 
we are prone to think God forgets us, when, indeed, 
we forget ourselves in being so bold to set God a time 
of our own, and in being angry that He comes not 
just then to us. gurnall. 

They shall not be ashamed that wait for me. is. 

These waiting seasons, trying though they are to x ^ x - 
flesh and blood, are nevertheless precious ones for the 
soul. Ah, how much do we learn in them that will 
pass on with us into eternity, and draw from our lips 

137 



One Thousand and One 



there the loudest praises! Yes, it will be then seen 
that our waiting time here has been the most precious 
part of our heavenward journey. How will the joy of 
that world of unbroken rest be enhanced by the trials 
and struggles of life's pilgrimage, where not one wave 
of sorrow shall ever break over the soul ! Each shall 
look back and exclaim, "He hath done all things well!" 

F. WHITFIELD. 

is. Who is among you that . . . walketh in darkness 
'• IO - and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the 
Lord and stay upon his God. 

This is God's way. In the darkest hours of the 
night His tread draws near across the billows. As the 
day of execution is breaking, the angel comes to Peter's 
cell. When the scaffold for Mordecai is complete, the 
royal sleeplessness leads to a reaction in favor of the 
threatened race. Ah ! soul, it may have to come to the 
worst with thee ere thou art delivered; but thou wilt 
be! God may keep thee waiting; but He will ever be 
mindful of His covenant, and will appear to fulfill His 
inviolable word. f. b. meyer. 

is. Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole 
li- i • of the pit whence ye are digged. 

God would build for Himself a palace in heaven of 
living stones. Where did He get them ? Did He go 
to the quarries of Paros ? Hath He brought forth the 
richest and the purest marble from the quarries of per- 
fection? No, ye saints: look to "the hole of the pit 
whence ye were digged, and to the rock whence ye 
were hewn!" Ye were full of sin: so far from being 
stones that were white with purity, ye were black with 
defilement, seemingly utterly unfit to be stones in the 



Thoughts from My Library 



spiritual temple, which should be the dwelling-place 
of the Most High. Goldsmiths make exquisite forms 
from precious material; they fashion the bracelet and 
the ring from gold: God maketh His precious things 
out of base material; and from the black pebbles of 
the defiling brooks He hath taken up stones, which He 
hath set in the golden ring of His immutable love, to 
make them gems to sparkle on His finger forever. He 
hath not selected the best, but apparently the worst of 
men to be the monuments of His grace; and, when He 
would have a choir in heaven, He sent Mercy to earth 
to find out the dumb, and teach them to sing. 

SPURGEON. 

He was zvounded for our transgressions, he was is. 
bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our liii. 5- 
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are 
healed. 

Two friends are said to come into Vulcan's shop, 
and to beg a boon of him : it was granted. What was 
it? that he would either beat them on his anvil, or- 
melt them in his furnace, both into one. But without 
fiction, here is a far greater love in Christ; for He 
would be melted in the furnace of wrath, and beaten 
on the anvil of death, to be made one with us. And 
to declare the exceeding love, here were not both to be 
beaten on the anvil, or melted in the furnace; but with- 
out us He alone would be beaten on the anvil, He alone 
melted that we might be spared. thomas adams. 

My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your is. 

ways my ways, saith the Lord. lv. 8. 

Take a straight stick, and put it into the water, and 
it will seem crooked. Why ? Because we look upon 

139 



One Thousand and One 



it through two mediums, — air and water. Thus the 
proceedings of God in His justice, which in themselves 
are straight, without the least obliquity, seem unto us 
crooked. That wicked men should prosper, and good 
men be afflicted; that the Israelites should make the 
bricks, and the Egyptians dwell in the houses; that 
servants should ride on horseback, and princes go on 
foot, — these are things that make the best Christians 
stagger in their judgments. And why ? But because 
they look upon God's proceedings through a double 
medium, — of flesh and spirit; that so all things seem 
to go cross, though, indeed, they are right enough. 
And hence it is that God's proceedings in His justice 
are not so well discerned; the eyes of man alone being 
not competent judges thereof. 

A child might say to a geographer, " You talk about 
the earth being round! Look on this great crag; look 
on that deep dell; look on yonder great mountain, and 
the valley at its feet, and yet you talk about the earth 
being round." The geographer would have an instant 
answer for the child; his view is comprehensive; he 
does not look at the surface of the world in mere 
detail; he does not deal with inches and feet and 
yards; he sees a larger world than the child has had 
time to grasp. He explains what he means by the ex- 
pression, "The earth is a globe," and justifies his 
strange statement. And so it is with God's wonder- 
ful dealings with us: there are great rocks and barren 
deserts, deep, dank, dark pits and defiles, and glens 
and dells, rugged places that we cannot smooth over 
at all; and yet when He comes to say to us at the end 
of the journey, "Now, look back; there is the way 
that I have brought you," we shall be enabled to say, 

140 



Thoughts from My Library 



"Thou hast gone before us, and made our way 
straight." Joseph parker. 

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are is. 
my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts l y - 9- 
than your thoughts. 

You will notice that in the placid waters of a lake 
everything which is highest in reality is lowest in 
the reflection. The higher the trees, the lower their 
image. That is the picture of this world; what is 
highest in this world is lowest in the other, and what 
is highest in that world is lowest in this. Gold is on 
top here; they pave the streets with it there. To serve 
is looked upon as ignoble here; there those that serve 
reign, and the last are first. Any girl is willing to 
fling away paste diamonds for the real stones ; when a 
man understands what God can be to the soul, he 
loses his taste for things he used to care for most. 

F. B. MEYER. 

The high and lofty One . . . inhabiteth eternity, is. 

Eternity hath neither beginning nor end. Time hath 1 5- 
both. Eternity comprehends in itself all years, all 
ages, all periods of ages, and differs from time as the 
sea and the rivers; the sea never changes place, and is 
always one water, but the rivers glide along and are 
swallowed up in the sea; so is time by eternity. 

CHARNOCK. 

The Lord shall guide thee continually. is. 

The bells of Westminster Abbey chime hourly a hdii. 
sweet, simple melody. The words allied to the tune n * 
are these: 

All through this hour, 

Lord, be my guide, 
And through Thy power 

No foot shall slide. 

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One Thousand and One 



is. Your iniquities have separated between you and your 
lix. 2. God, and your sins have hid his face from you. 

At a rehearsal for a Sabbath-school entertainment, 
some time since, a little girl, five years old, was placed 
upon the platform to recite a short poem. She com- 
menced very bravely, but her eyes wandered all round 
the church, gathering more and more of disappoint- 
ment in her face. Soon the lips began to quiver, and 
the little form shook with sobs. Her father stepped 
from behind a pillar, from whence he had been watch- 
ing her, and taking her in his arms, said, "Why, dar- 
ling, what is the matter? I thought my little girl 
knew the verses so well." "So I do, papa; but I 
couldn't see you. Let me stand where I can look 
right into your face, and then I won't be afraid." Is 
it not so with our heavenly Father's children ? We 
stand too often where we cannot look into His face. 
Darling sins and our pride, like pillars, rise up between 
us and God, and disappointment and tears are ours, 
until, casting these behind us, we stand in the light of 
the Father's face. 

is. The Lord shall be thine everlasting light. 
lx. 20. g oc i i s Light. God is a Sun. Paul says: "God 
hath shined in our hearts to give the light." What 
light? "The light of the glory of God, in the face of 
Jesus Christ." Just as the sun shines its beautiful, life- 
giving light on and into our earth, so God shines into 
our hearts the light of His glory, of His love, in Christ 
His Son. Our heart is meant to have that light filling 
and gladdening it all the day. It can have it, because 
God is our sun, and it is written, "Thy sun shall no 
more go down forever." God's love shines on us 
without ceasing. andrew Murray. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. 

Day by day, are you busy, and even painstaking, in 
the attempt to weave and work out a righteousness of 
your own. Leave that loom! Your vows and promises 
are gossamer threads; ever snapping in your hands 
and breaking at each throw of the shuttle. The "fine 
linen" that robes the saints, the only raiment meet for 
thy soul and approved of God, was woven on the 
cross; and dyed there, with color more enduring than 
Tyrian purple, in the blood of the Son of God. 

GUTHRIE. 

What will ye do in the end thereof} jer. 

Better it is, toward the right conduct of life, to con- v - 3 
sider what will be the end of a thing, than what is the 
beginning of it; for what promises fair at first may 
prove ill, and what seems at first a disadvantage, may 
prove very advantageous. wells. 

Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel ? jer. 

I know not, but probably the Bible here alludes to xv * 
the superior excellence of a Damascus blade. I once 
happened to see this steel put to the test. It was in 
France, and in the chemistry class of the Sorbonne. In 
the course of a lecture on iron, Thenard, the professor, 
produced a Damascus blade, stating that he believed 
that these swords owed their remarkable temper to 
•the iron of which they were made being smelted by 
the charcoal of a thorn-bush that grew in the desert. . 
To put it to the trial, he placed the sword in the hand 
of a very powerful man, his assistant; desiring him to 
strike it with all his might against a bar of iron. With 
the arm of a giant the assistant sent the blade flashing 
around his head, and then down on the iron block, 

U3 



is. 

lxiv. 6. 



One Thousand and One 



into which, when I expected to see it shivered like 
glass, it embedded itself, quivering but uninjured ; giv- 
ing, besides a remarkable proof of the trustworthiness 
of the sword, new force to the proverb, True as steel. 

GUTHRIE. 

jer. Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine 
xv. 1 6. heart. 

The Bible is a rock of diamonds, a chain of pearls, 
the sword of the Spirit; a chart by which the Christian 
sails to eternity; the map by which he daily walks; 
the sun-dial by which he sets his life; the balance in 
which he weighs his actions. T. watson. 

jer. The heart is deceitful above all things. 
xvn. 9. dank mossy sward is deceitful: its fresh and 

glossy carpet invites the traveller to leave the rough 
moorland tract; and, at the first step, horse and rider 
are buried in the morass. The sea is deceitful; what 
rage, what stormy passions sleep in that placid bosom! 
and how often, as vice serves her used-up victims, 
does she cast the bark that she received into her arms 
with sunny smiles .a wreck upon the shore. The 
morning is oft deceitful; with bright promise of a 
brilliant day, it lures us from home; the sky ere noon 
begins to thicken; the sun looks sickly; the sluggish, 
heavily-laden clouds gather upon the hilltops; the 
landscape closes in all around; the lark drops songless- 
into her nest; the wind rises, moaning and chill; and 
at length, like adversities gathering round the grey 
head of age, tempest, storm, and rain, thicken on the 
dying day. The desert is deceitful; it mocks the 
traveller with its mirage. How life kindles in his 
drooping eye, as he sees the playful waves chase each 

144 



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other to the shore, and the plumes of the palm waving 
in the watery mirror! Faint, weary, parched, perishing 
with thirst, he turns to bathe and drink; and exhaust- 
ing what little strength remains in pursuit of a phan- 
tom, unhappy man! he has turned to die. Deceitful 
above sward or sea, sky or enchanting desert, is the 
heart of man; nor do 1 know a more marked or mel- 
ancholy proof of this than that afforded by our light 
treatment of such weighty matters as sin and judg- 
ment. There is no exaggeration in the prophet's lan- 
guage, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and 
desperately wicked." guthrie. 

/ the Lord search the heart. jer. 

Before men we stand as opaque beehives. They xy h. 
can see the thoughts go in and out of us; but what I0, 
work they do inside of a man, they cannot tell. Be- 
fore God we are as glass beehives, and all that our 
thoughts are doing within us He perfectly sees and 
understands. beecher. 

Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in jer. 

mine hand, O house of Israel. xviii. 
God is love. — / John iv. 8. ^' 

I am clay in the hands of God, I tremble; I am clay 
in the hands of Love, I trust. g. gampbell morgan. 

/ spake unto thee in thy prosperity. jer. 

We shade our eyes with the hand to shut out the XX1L 
glare of the strong daylight, when we want to see far 
away. God thus puts, as it were, His hand upon our 
brows, and tempers the glow of prosperity, that we 
may take in the wider phases of His goodness. It is a 
common experience that, looking out from the gloom 

145 



21. 



One Thousand and One 



of some personal affliction, men have seen for the 
first time beyond the earth plane, and caught glimpses 
of the Beulah Land. Let us not shrink from the Hand 
which we know is heavy only with blessing. 

LUDLOW. 

jer. / am in your hand ; do with me as seemeth good 
xxvi. . . . unto you. 

Here is the crest for the Lord's worker: An arrow, 
polished and feathered — content to lie in the quiver 
until the Master uses it. Lying on the string for His 
unerring fingers to send it forth: then going, strong, 
swift, sure, smiting through the heart of the king's 
enemies. And with this for the motto: / fly where I 
am sent. mark guy pearse. 

jer. / have loved thee with an everlasting love. 
xxxi. Q et U p | nt0 ^ ^[gh mountains, believing children 
^' of God, and view the everlasting love of your Father 
toward you in Jesus! Recount all that that love has 
brought for you before you had any being! Is it likely 
to drop you now because of any unworthiness it per- 
ceives ? Can anything appear in us which was not 
anticipated by One Who before taking us for His own 
possession sat down and counted the cost ? Is there 
not comfort in knowing that your keel is caught by a 
current which emanated from the purpose of Him 
Who worketh all things after the counsel of His own 
will, and is bearing you toward His heart ? " Oh, the 
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the 
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judg- 
ments, and His ways past finding out! For of Him, 
and through Him, and to Him are all things! To Him 
be the glory forever. Amen." f. b. meyer. 

■ 4 6 



Thoughts from My Library 



/ will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in JER. _ 
their hearts. . xxxl - 

Lycurgus would allow none of his laws to be writ- 
ten. He would have the principles of government in- 
terwoven in the lives and manners of the people, as 
most conducive to their happiness. Their education 
would be such as to imprint these laws upon their 
minds, that they might remain perpetually before 
them. He will most faithfully abide by the king's 
commandment who has the word of God so engraven 
upon his heart that nothing can erase it. The mul- 
tiplication of Bibles that stand upon book-shelves or lie 
upon tables is an easy matter; but to multiply copies 
of walking Scriptures, in the form of holy men who 
can say, " Thy word have I hid in my heart," is much 
more difficult. 

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, they whose judgment was jer. 
not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken ; xlix. 
and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished ? I2 - 
thou shalt not go unpunished. 

The tale of the goblet which the genius of a heathen 
fashioned was true, and taught a moral of which many 
a deathbed furnishes the melancholy illustration. 
Having made the model of a serpent, he fixed it in the 
bottom of the cup. Coiled for the spring, a pair of 
gleaming eyes in its head, and in its open mouth fangs 
raised to strike, it lay beneath the ruby wine. Nor did 
he who raised that golden cup to quench his thirst, and 
quaff the delicious draught, suspect what lay below, 
till, as he reached the dregs, that dreadful head rose 
up, and glistened before his eyes. So, when life's cup 
is nearly emptied, and sin's last pleasure quaffed, and 

M7 



One Thousand and One 



unwilling lips are draining the bitter dregs, shall rise 
the ghastly terrors of remorse and death and judgment 
upon the despairing soul. Be assured, a serpent lurks 
at the bottom of guilt's sweetest pleasure, guthrie. 

jer. An empty vessel. 

• 34- We must be emptied of self before we can be filled 
with grace; we must be stripped of our rags before 
we can be clothed with righteousness; we must be 
unclothed that we may be clothed; wounded, that we 
may be healed; killed, that we may be made alive; 
buried in disgrace, that we may rise in holy glory. 
These words, "sown in corruption, that we may be 
raised in incorruption ; sown in dishonor, that we may 
be raised in glory; sown in weakness, that we may be 
raised in power," are as true of the soul as the body. 
To borrow an illustration from the surgeon's art, the 
bone that is set wrong must be broken again, in order 
that it may be set aright. I press this truth on your 
attention. It is certain, that a soul filled with self has 
no room for God; and, like the inn of Bethlehem, 
given to lodge, crowded with meaner guests, a heart 
preoccupied by pride and her godless train has no 
chamber within which Christ may be born " in us the 
hope of glory." guthrie. 

jer. The people shall labor in vain. 

- 5& A man may stop his chronometer in the night, but 
he cannot arrest the sunrise. john ker. 

lam. His compassions fail not. They are new every morn- 

iii. ing ; great is thy faithfulness. 
' 2 3' It is the glory of God's love that it is always fresh 
and new. It is never the same in its expression any 

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two days. We have to patch up our old things and 
keep using them over and over again; but God never 
does. He never gives us the old leaves a second time; 
each spring every tree gets new foliage, new garments 
of beauty. He does not revive last year's withered 
flowers, and give them to us again for this year; He 
gives us new flowers for each summer. 

So He does with His messages of love — they are not 
repeated over and over again, always the same old 
ones. Every time the reverent heart reads the Bible, 
its words come fresh from the lips of God, always 
new. They never get old. They are like the water 
that bubbles up in living streams from the depths in 
the wayside spring, always fresh, sweet, and new. 

So it is with the blessings of prayer. Morning by 
morning we kneel before God, seeking His benediction 
and favor. He does not give us always the same 
blessing, but has a new one ready for each new day. 
Our needs are not the same any two mornings when 
we bow before Him, and He always suits the blessing 
to the need. We are taught to live day by day. 
God's goodness comes to us new every morning. 

J. R. MILLER. 

So thick do Heaven's mercies fly that the arrow of 
prayer can never be shot aright without bringing 
down some blessing. If it bring not that which we 
seek, it shall bring us that which we need. 

MARK GUY PEARSE. 

He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of lam. 
men. hi- 33* 

It is the rough work that polishes. Look at the peb- 
bles on the shore! Far inland, where some arm of the 

149 



One Thousand and One 



sea thrusts itself deep into the bosom of the land, and 
expanding into a salt loch, lies girdled by the moun- 
tains, sheltered from - the storms that agitate the deep, 
the pebbles on the beach are rough, not beautiful; an- 
gular, not rounded. It is where long white lines of 
breakers roar, and the rattling shingle is rolled about 
the strand, that its pebbles are rounded and polished. 
As in nature, as in the arts, so in grace; it is rough 
treatment that gives souls as well as stones their lustre; 
the more the diamond is cut the brighter it sparkles; 
and in what seems hard dealing, their God has no end 
in view but to perfect His people's graces. Our 
Father, and kindest of fathers. He afflicts not will- 
ingly; He sends tribulations, but hear Paul tell their 
purpose: " Tribulation worketh patience, patience ex- 
perience, experience hope." guthrie. 

O ye children of poverty and toil, of misfortune and 
sorrow! God is better to you than ye know. Ye see 
but one side of the veil now; and that is fretted with 
troubles, and dark with adversity. But it has another 
side. On that side are angel faces and the smile of 
God. Your worldly plans are thwarted, and you are 
tempted to think the Lord unkind. Your business be- 
comes entangled in events, which shift, ye see not 
how. A sudden blast sweeps all your goods away: 
ye think it hard, and ye sigh. O weeping followers of 
Jesus, look! Faithful amid misfortune, gaze! Your 
crowns are gathering lustre. Your harps are being at- 
tuned to sweeter notes and deeper melodies of joy. 
Your trials project their shadows upon the walls of 
your heavenly mansion; and, lo! they are transformed 
into images of seraphic loveliness that shall gleam in 
beauty there forever. j. atkinson. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



Thy beauty . . . was perfect through my comeli- ezek. 

ness which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God. xvi. 14. 

At heaven's gate there stands an angel, with charge 
to admit none but those who in their countenances 
bear the same features as the Lord of the place. Here 
comes a monarch with a crown upon his head. The 
angel pays him no respect, but reminds him that the 
diadems of earth have no value in heaven. A com- 
pany of eminent men advance dressed in robes of 
state, and others adorned with the gowns of learning, 
but to these no deference is rendered, for their faces 
are very unlike the Crucified. A maiden comes for- 
ward, fair and comely, but the celestial watcher sees 
not in that sparkling eye and ruddy cheek the beauty 
for which he is looking. A man of renown cometh 
up heralded by fame, and preceded by the admiring 
clamor of mankind; but the angel saith, ''Such ap- 
plause may please the sons of men, but thou hast no 
right to enter here." But free admittance is always 
given to those who in holiness are made like their 
Lord. Poor they may have been; illiterate they may 
have been; but the angel as he looks at them smiles a 
welcome as he says, "It is Christ again; a transcript 
of the holy child Jesus. Come in, come in; eternal 
glory thou shalt win. Thou shalt sit in heaven with 
Christ, for thou art like Him." spurgeon. 

/ will cause you to pass under the rod. ezek. 

It was the custom of the Jews to select the tenth of xx * 37- 
their sheep after this manner: the lambs were sepa- 
rated from the dams, and enclosed in a sheepcote, 
with only one narrow way out; the dams were at the 
entrance. On opening the gate, the lambs hastened to 



One Thousand and One 



join the dams; and a man placed at the entrance, with 
a rod dipped in ochre, touched every tenth lamb, and 
so marked it with his .rod, saying, "Let this be holy." 
Hence, saith the Lord by the prophet Ezekiel, "I will 
cause you to pass under the rod." 

ezek. And everything shall live whither the river cometh. 

' v "-9- Away among the Alleghanies there is a spring, so 
small that a single ox could drain it dry on a summer's 
day. It steals its unobtrusive way among the hills, till 
it spreads out into the beautiful Ohio; thence it 
stretches away a thousand miles, leaving on its banks 
more than a hundred villages and cities, and many 
thousand cultivated farms, and bearing on its bosom 
more than half a thousand steamboats; then, joining 
the Mississippi, it stretches away some twelve hundred 
miles or more, until it falls into the great emblem of 
eternity. It is one of the great tributaries of the ocean, 
which, obedient only to God, shall roll and roar till the 
angel, with one foot on the sea, and the other on the 
land, shall lift up his hand to heaven, and swear that time 
shall be no longer. So with moral influence. It is a 
rivulet, an ocean, boundless and fathomless as eternity. 

dan. Daniel purposed in his heart. 

l ' The longer I live, the more I am certain that the 
great difference between men, between the feeble and 
the powerful, the great and the insignificant, is energy, 
invincible determination — a purpose once fixed, and 
then death or victory ! fowell buxton. 

dan. Daniel . . . kneeled upon his knees three times a 
i- I0 - day, and prayed. 

Constantine the Great was one day looking at some 
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Thoughts from My Library 



statues of noted persons, who were represented stand- 
ing. "I shall have mine taken kneeling,' 1 said he; 
" for that is how I have risen to eminence." Thus it 
is with the Christian : if he would obtain any real emi- 
nence in the Christian life, he must be often kneeling 
in prayer to God. 

To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, dan. 

As a spring-lock closes of itself, but cannot be un- 1X - 9- 
locked without a key; so we of ourselves may run into 
sin, but cannot return without the key of God's grace. 

CAWDRAY. 

/ was left alone, and saw this great vision. dan. 
When you are most alone you will have most of x - 

God. JOSEPH PARKER. 

Solitude is the ante-chamber of God; only one step 
more and you can be in His immediate presence. 

LANDOR. 

O Daniel, a man greatly beloved . .. . unto thee dan. 

am I now sent. x. 1 1. 
To be known in heaven is the best fame. 

JOSEPH PARKER. 

The people that do know their God shall be strong and dan. 
do. xi. 32. 

The old archers took the bow, put one end of it 
down beside the foot, elevated the other end, and it 
was the rule that the bow should be just the size of 
the archer. If it were just his size, then he would go 
into the battle with confidence. Your power to pro- 
ject good in the world will correspond exactly to your 
own spiritual stature. talmage. 

*53 



One Thousand and One 



A silver egg was once presented to a Saxon princess. 
On opening the silver by a secret spring, there was 
found a yolk of gold. The spring of the gold being 
found, it flew open and disclosed a beautiful bird. On 
pressing the wings of the bird, in its breast was found 
a crown, jewelled and radiant. And even within the 
crown, upheld by a spring like the rest, was a ring of 
diamonds which fitted the finger of the princess her- 
self. Oh, how many a promise there is within a 
promise in the Scripture, the silver around the gold, 
the gold around the jewels; yet how few of God's 
children ever find their way far enough among the 
springs to discover the crown of His rejoicing or the 
ring of His covenant of peace! 

dan. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried. 
11. 10. There is a mountain in Scotland called Cairngorm — 
literally, "the blue mountain" — and on it are found 
valuable rock crystals. The way in which the High- 
landers gather the stones called Cairngorms is this : 
when there is a sunburst after a violent shower, they 
go and look along the whole brow of the mountain 
for certain sparkling spots; the shower has washed 
away the loose earth, the sunbeams light upon and are 
reflected from the stones, and thus they are detected. 
It is just God's way of bringing forth His own — His 
" jewels." Affliction lays them bare. cumming. 

hos. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. 
VL 3- The Lord has brought us into the pathway of the 
knowledge of Him, and bids us pursue that path 
through all its strange meanderings till it opens out 
upon the plain where God's throne is. Our life is a 
following on to know the Lord. We marvel at some 

154 



Thoughts from My Library 



of the experiences through which we are called to 
pass: but afterward we see that they afforded us some 
new knowledge of our Lord. Our path suddenly dis- 
appeared in some hideous cavern where we seemed to 
hear the roaring of wild beasts; and we could not at 
all conceive what benefit would arise from our enter- 
ing; but we entered; and when by a favoring passage 
we emerged from that obscurity and danger, we felt 
that we had obtained some new and valuable insight 
into the divine character. Again, our path shot right 
down into the impenetrable darkness of some deep 
pit; it was some time before our eyes got accustomed 
to that darkness ; then we discovered a little door, and 
soon found ourselves in a gallery of hidden treasures, 
several of which we gathered and still retain. Pursu- 
ing thus the knowledge of God we found ourselves 
like Joseph in Egypt, alone in the midst of a nation 
that knew not God; and found that there was some- 
thing here to be learned concerning the divine perfec- 
tion that could not be learned elsewhere. We have 
not then to wait for some future brighter opportunity; 
but by improvement of the present are to build for 
ourselves a bridge to that future. bowen. 

They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the hos. 
whirlwind. vn i- 7- 

The story runs, that, as Abdallah lingered over his 
morning repast, a little fly alighted on his goblet, took 
a sip, and was gone. It came again and again; in- 
creased its charms; became bolder and bolder; grew 
in size till it presented the likeness of a man; con- 
sumed Abdallah's meat, so that he grew thin and weak 
while his guest became great and strong. Then con- 

155 



One Thousand and One 



tention arose between them, and the youth smote the 
demon, so that he departed; and the youth rejoiced at 
his deliverance. But the demort soon came again, 
charmingly arrayed, and was restored to favor. On 
the morrow, the youth came not to his teacher. The 
mufti, searching, found him in his chamber lying dead 
upon his divan. His visage was black and swollen ; 
and on his throat was the pressure of a finger, broader 
than the palm of a mighty man. His treasures were 
gone. In the garden, the mufti discovered the foot- 
prints of a giant, one of which measured six cubits. 
Such is the Oriental portrayal of the growth and power 
of habit. 

_ hos. / will be as the dew unto Israel. 

lv - 5- 7h e dew does not fall on rude or stormy nights; 
there must be stillness and repose. And it does not 
fall on cloudy nights; there must be nothing of cloud 
between our souls and God if we would have His 
dews. The dew does not fall on the world's beaten 
highways, but on the green grass, on the least and 
lowliest blade of life; for God cherishes all He plants. 
Grace always attracts dew. c. a. fox. 

amos Thus saith the Lord. 

l - 3- Everything we believe as doctrine, everything we do 
as duty, and everything we observe as worship, must 
have this authority — "The Master saith it." All tam- 
pering with Scripture as the sole and sufficient rule of 
faith and practice, and all tampering with conscience 
as bound by that rule, is a guilty resistance of the au- 
thority of Christ, and a perilous thing to our own wel- 
fare. JOHN ANGELL JAMES. 

.56 



Thoughts from My Library 

Arise, go io Nineveh. . . . But Jonah rose up to jonah 
flee unto Tarshish. L 2 ' 3- 

Ruminating upon trouble is bitter work. Children 
fill their mouths with bitterness when they rebelliously 
chew the pill which they ought obediently to have 
taken at once. spurgeon. 

The word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time jonah 

saying, Arise, go to Nineveh. . . . So Jonah 111 • *> 

arose and went to Nineveh. 2 ' ^' 
Come, take that task of yours which you have been 

hesitating before, and shirking, and walking around, 

and on this very day lift it up and do it. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

Arise ye, and depart ; for this is not your rest. mic. 

" As an eagle stirreth up her nest." This illustration 1L I0 - 
is one of the most beautiful and appropriate that could 
be conceived. It is taken from the habits of the eagle, 
which, when her young ones are well-fledged and 
would prefer to linger in downy ease, disturbs their 
nest, that they may be taught how to fly. Look at 
that parent bird picking at the nest which she hath 
built for her tender offspring: see how she breaks off 
one twig after another, exciting her brood to leave 
their nest and soar on high amid the sunshine of 
heaven. And if they will not leave it, she will break 
it further and further, until it is utterly broken up, and 
they are forced to fly or fall. Thus God deals with 
us. He knows our tendency to make this earth our 
rest, and He disturbs our nest to teach us to rise on 
the wings of faith toward the enduring realities of 
heaven. How often does God take away our earthly 
comforts when He sees that we cling too fondly to 

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them! How often, in this world of vicissitude and 
change, do riches make themselves wings and fly 
away! By some unfortunate speculation, or in some 
way we know not how, lands and possessions are 
swept away at a stroke, and stranger feet now tread 
that abode which was once the home of competence 
and ease. The hopes of a rising family are blighted, 
and those who were fostered in the downy softness of 
luxury are turned out into a cold and pitiless world to 
work for their daily bread. Perhaps something upon 
which we placed the utmost reliance, upon which 
seemed to rest our only stay, is suddenly and myste- 
riously taken from us, and when we attempt to grasp 
it we find it gone. A gale at sea may destroy the 
hopes of the merchant; depression in trade may bring 
want to your door; the bankruptcy of some large 
mercantile firm, or the failure of a bank, may involve 
numbers in ruin, and plunge many families in misery 
hitherto unknown. How many have had occasion, 
from these and similar causes, and how many more 
will yet have occasion, to mourn over altered circum- 
stances! Marvel not if it be thus with you; it is God 
stirring up your nest to teach you to wing your flight 
to heaven. All these things have a voice if ye will but 
hear, and seem to say, "Arise ye, and depart; for this 
is not your rest." brock. 

mic. Walk humbly with thy God. 

l ' In a. d. 59, not many years after Paul's conversion, 
he was "the least of the apostles . . . not meet 
to be called an apostle." Five years later in a. d. 64, 
he speaks of himself as being "less than the least of 
all saints," and in a. d. 65, he calls himself " the chief" 
of "sinners." 

158 



Thoughts from My Library- 



Lightly laden vessels float high in the water, heavy 
cargoes sink the barques to the water's edge. The 
more grace the soul has the humbler it will be. 

/ will look unto the Lord; 1 will wait for the God of mic. 

my salvation ; my God will hear me. vii. 7. 

There is no sense in always telegraphing to heaven 
for God to send a cargo of blessing, unless we are at 
the wharf to unload the vessel when it comes. 

F. B. MEYER. 

When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto mic. 
me. vii. 8. 

When God gives faith He gives the opportunity of 
proving it. "Thou shalt sit in darkness," He says to 
His trusting servant. But first He leads him along 
some flowery walk and accustoms him to a high 
measure of spiritual prosperity. Then suddenly an 
unexpected tempest gathers about him, and he finds 
himself in deepest, strangest night. Darkness is 
come; but it is different in some of its elements from 
what the believer had contemplated in the day of his 
declared faith. Yes, designedly different. It was 
needful that his darkness should be something never 
anticipated in order that his faith might have its full 
proof. The darkness seems to say: "God is not in 
me; I am sent in wrath. Thy faith is presumption. 
. . . Despair is the only thing that harmonizes 
with me." The shadow thus speaks and frowns. 
But faith comes nobly out of this conflict. ... It 
seizes the Word of God with a compulsory grasp, and 
immediately the believer is compassed about with 
light. bowen. 
• 159 



One Thousand and One 



mic. Thou will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. 
1L ! 9- A Welsh minister speaking of the burial of Moses, 
said: " In that burial not only was the body buried, 
but the grave and the graveyard. This is an illustra- 
tion of the way in which God's mercy buries sins." 

nah. Slow to anger. 

i- 3- Make haste to help me. — Psalm xl. ij. 

Though the Lord often spares reproof, He never 
spares commendation. He is slow to anger; He makes 
haste to be gracious. 

hab. The just shall live by his faith. 

1L 4- Faith is the grand principle of the divine life from 
first to last. By faith we are justified, and by faith we 
live; by faith we stand, and by faith we walk. From 
the starting-post to the goal of the Christian course it 
is all by faith. c. h. Mcintosh. 

hab. Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall 
iii- fruit be in the vines ; the labor of the olive shall fail, 
7' and the fields yield no meat ; the flock shall be cut 

off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the 
stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the 
God of my salvation. 

This is a noble utterance, Habbakuk! Thou hast 
surely read the book of Job, and art echoing that great 
word of his — "Though the Lord slay me, yet will I 
trust in Him." Thou believest that the love which God 
has toward us rests on some more solid evidence than 
the temporal benefits which He bestows upon us; 
upon evidence so satisfactory, so unimpeachable, that 
even if the greatly-prospered servant of God saw his 
flocks and herds rapidly perish, his merchandise carried 

160 



Thoughts from My Library 



off by robbers or consumed by fire, his houses and 
lands confiscated by unjust power, his gold and silver 
fraudulently taken from him, his friends alienated, his 
name beclouded, his person imprisoned, his health 
impaired, his appetite vitiated, his sight extinguished, 
his utterance impeded, he would still have occasions 
of undying and fervent gratitude, motives for joy un- 
speakable, a foundation for peace which passeth all 
understanding. Thanks be unto Him that sitteth upon 
the throne for the innumerable avenues by which the 
expressions of His goodness come to us. But oh, 
while we adore Him for these, let us feel that He has 
placed the great truth of His love toward us sinners, 
once for all, upon an inviolable basis; so that though 
the day, as it passes, may or may not have particular 
tokens of His goodness to impart, that goodness can 
in no wise be questioned. It is most likely, O Hab- 
bakuk, that God took thee at thy word; and in some 
surprising way, gave thee an opportunity of evincing 
thy singleness of heart toward Him; and that thou 
now wearest some peculiar crown of honor and fe- 
licity in consequence of that proof given. bowen. 

Consider your ways. 

Before proceeding to any work, we should weigh it. 
Letters are charged in the post office according to 
weight. I have written and sealed a letter containing 
several sheets. I desire that it should pass; I think it 
will; but I know well that it will not be allowed to 
pass because I desire that it should or think that it will. 
I know well it will be tested by imperial weights and 
measures. Before I plunge it beyond my reach, I place 
it on a balance before me, not constructed to please 

161 



One Thousand and One 



my desire, but honestly adjusted to the legal standard. 
I weigh it there, and check it myself by the very rules 
which government will apply. So should we weigh 
our purposes in the balance, before we launch them 
forth in action. arnot. 

zech. Who hath despised the day of small things ? 

v - I0 - A tall chimney had been completed; and the scaf- 
folding was being removed. One man remained on 
the top to superintend the process. A rope should 
have been left for him to descend by. His wife was 
at home washing, when her little boy burst in with, 
" Mother, mother, they've forgotten the rope, and he's 
going to throw himself down! " She paused; her lips 
moved in the agony of prayer; and she rushed forth. 
Crowds stood looking up to the poor man, who was 
moving round and round the narrow cornice, terrified 
and bewildered. He seemed as if at any moment he 
might fall, or throw himself down in despair. His 
wife from below cried out, "Wait, John! " The man 
became calm. "Take off thy stocking; unravel the 
worsted." And he did so. "Now tie the end to a 
bit of mortar, and lower gently." . Down came the 
thread and the bit of mortar, swinging backward and 
forward. Lower and lower it descended, eagerly 
watched by many eyes: it was now within reach, and 
was gently seized by one of the crowd. They fastened 
some twine to the thread. " Now pull up." The man 
got hold of the twine. The rope was now fastened 
on. "Pull away again." He at length seized the 
rope, and made it secure. There were a few moments 
of suspense, and then, amidst the shouts of the people, 
he threw himself into the arms of his wife, sobbing, 

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" Thou'st saved me, Mary ! " The worsted thread was 
not despised: it drew after it the twine, the rope, the 
rescue! Ah! my friend, thou may est be sunk very 
low down in sin and woe; but there is a thread of 
divine love, that comes from the throne of heaven, 
and touches even thee. Seize that thread. It may be 
small; but it is golden. Improve what you have, 
however little, and more shall be given. That thin 
thread of love, if you will not neglect it, shall lift even 
you up to God and glory. newman hall. 

He shall build the temple of the Lord. zech. 

What a fine emblem of death is that floating of the VL I2 - 
trees of Lebanon after being sawn into planks and 
made ready to be fixed as pillars of the temple! Is it 
not just so with us ? Here we grow, and are at length 
cut down, and made ready to become pillars of the 
temple. Across the stream of death we are ferried by 
a loving hand, and brought to the port of Jerusalem, 
where we are safely landed, to go no more out for- 
ever, but to abide as eternal pillars in the temple of 
our Lord. The Tyrians floated these rafts; but no 
stranger, no foreigner shall float us across the stream 
of death; no king of Tyre and Sidon shall do it; Jesus 
Christ, who is the "death of death and hell's destruc- 
tion," Himself shall pilot us across the stream, and 
land us safe on Canaan's side. spurgeon. 

/ . . . will refine them as silver is refined, and zech. 

will try them as gold is tried. xiii. 9. 

I have read of a fountain that is cold at midday, and 
warm at midnight. Thus are saints frequently cold 
in the midday of prosperity, and warm in the mid- 
night of adversity. Afflictions are not a consuming, 

.63 



One Thousand and One 



but a refining fire to the godly. They are like the 
thorn at the nightingale's breast, which rouses and 
puts her upon her delightful notes. secker. 



zech 
xiii. 9 



111. 



They shall call on my name, and I will hear them. 

Prayer is the rope in the belfry; we pull it and it 
rings the bell up in heaven. Christmas evans. 

mal. / am the Lord, I change not. 

Our hope is not hung upon such untwisted thread 
as "I imagine so," or "It is likely"; but the cable, 
the strong rope of our fastened anchor, is the oath and 
promise of Him who is eternal verity: our salvation is 
fastened with God's own hand and Christ's own 
strength to the strong stake of God's unchanging na- 
ture. RUTHERFORD. 

mal. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in 
iii- l l- that day when I make up my jewels. 

"What dirty, dreadful, disgusting stuff," exclaims 
a man regarding that peculiarly unpleasant compound, 
the mud of London streets. " Hold, my friend," says 
Ruskin. "Not so dreadful after all. What are the 
elements of this mud ? First there is sand, but when 
its particles are crystallized according to the law of its 
nature, what is nicer than clean white sand ? And 
when that which enters into it is arranged according 
to a still higher law, we have the matchless opal. 
What else have we in this mud ? Clay. And the 
materials of clay, when the particles are arranged ac- 
cording to their higher laws, make the brilliant sapphire. 
What other ingredients enter into the London mud ? 
Soot. And soot in its crystallized perfection forms 
the diamond. There is but one other — water. And 

164 



.Thoughts from My Library 



water when distilled according to the higher law of 
its nature, forms the dewdrop resting in exquisite per- 
fection in the heart of the rose." So in the muddy, lost 
soul of man is hidden the image of his Creator, and 
God will do His best to find His opals, His sapphires, 
His diamonds and dewdrops. rainsford. 

Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteous- mal. 

ness arise with healing in his wings. iv. 2. 

Let me tell you again my old story of the eagle. For 
many months it pined and drooped in its cage, and 
seemed to have forgotten that it was of the lineage of 
the old plumed kings of the forest and the mountain; 
and its bright eye faded, and its strong wings drooped, 
and its kingly crest was bowed, and its plumes were 
torn and soiled amid the bars and dust of its prison- 
house. So, in pity of its forlorn life, we carried its 
cage out into the open air, and broke the iron wire and 
flung wide the lowly door; and slowly, falteringly, de- 
spondingly, it crept forth to the sultry air of that cloudy 
summer noon and looked listlessly about it. But just 
then, from a rift in an overhanging cloud, a golden 
sunbeam flashed upon the scene. And it was enough. 
Then it lifted its loyal crest, the dim eye blazed again, 
the soiled plumes unfolded and rustled, the strong 
wings moved themselves; with a rapturous cry it 
sprang heavenward. Higher, higher, in broader, 
braver circles it mounted toward the firmament, and 
we saw it no more as it rushed through the storm- 
clouds and soared to the sun. And would, O ye 
winged spirits! who dream and pine in this poor 
earthly bondage, that only one ray from the blessed 
Sun of Righteousness might fall on you this hour! for 

165 



One Thousand and One . 

then would there be the flash of a glorious eye and a 
cry of rapture, and a sway of exulting wings, as an- 
other redeemed and risen spirit sprang heavenward 
unto God. c. WADSWORTH. 

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, 
to be tempted of the devil. 

Only those temptations which we encounter on the 
way of duty, in the path of consecration, only those 
has our Lord promised us that we shall conquer. 
. . . If you are in temptation for temptation's sake, 
with no purpose beyond it, you are lost. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

matt. The devil . . . saith unto him, If thou be the Son 
i y - 5> of God, cast thyself down : for it is written, He shall 
1 1 ' give his angels charge concerning thee : and in their 
hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou 
dash thy foot against a stone. . . . Then the 
devil leaveth him. 

Faith melts promises into arguments as the soldier 
doth lead into bullets, and then helps the Christian to 
send them with a force to heaven in fervent prayer; 
whereas a promise in an unbeliever's mouth is like a 
shot in a gun's mouth without any fire to put to it. 

GURNALL. 

matt. All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down 
lv - 9- and worship me. 

Rowland Hill once began his sermon by saying, " My 
friends, the other day I was going down the street, and 
I saw a drove of pigs following a man. This excited 
my curiosity so much that I determined to follow. I 
did so; and, to my great surprise, I saw them follow 

1 66 



MATT. 

iv. i. 



Thoughts from My Library 



him to the slaughter-house. I was anxious to know 
how this was brought about; and I said to the man, 
' My friend, how did you manage to induce these pigs 
to follow you here?' — 'Oh! did you not see? 'said 
the man. ' I had a basket of beans under my arm ; and 
I dropped a few as 1 came along, and so they followed 
me.' "Yes," said the preacher; "and I thought, so it is 
the devil has his basket of beans under his arm; and he 
drops them as he goes along: and what multitudes he 
induces to follow him to an everlasting slaughter- 
house! Yes, friends; and all your broad and crowded 
thoroughfares are strewn with the beans of the devil." 

Those of us who have travelled in mountain coun- matt 
tries know how one range of hills rises behind another, v. 
one ever seeming the highest till yet a higher appears 3~ 12 - 
behind it; each has its own beauty, each its own pe- 
culiarity. But in mountain countries there is one 
range, one line of lofty summits, which always con- 
veys a new sense of beauty, of awe, of sublimity, 
which nothing else can give — the range of eternal 
snow. High above all the rest, we see the white 
peaks standing out in the blue sky, catching the first 
rays of the rising sum and the last rays of the sun as 
it departs. So is it with this range of high Christian 
character which our Lord has set before us in the Ser- 
mon on the Mount. High above all earthly lower hap- 
piness, the blessedness of those eight beatitudes towers 
into the heaven itself. They are white with the snows 
of eternity; they give a space, a meaning, a dignity to 
all the rest of the earth over which they brood. 

STANLEY. 

Ye are the salt of the earth. matt 
The salt in Judea was a native salt mingled with v - l 3 
167 



One Thousand and One 



various earthy substances. When exposed to the at- 
mosphere and rain, the saline particles in due time 
wasted away and what was left was an insipid earthy 
mass, looking like salt, but entirely destitute of a con- 
serving element, and absolutely good for nothing. It 
was not only good for nothing, but absolutely de- 
structive of all fertility wherever it might be thrown ; 
therefore it was cast into the streets to be trodden un- 
der foot of men. The carcass of sheep or bullock 
might be buried deep in this worthless mass, and the 
process of corruption not be delayed a moment. 

What an illustration is this of the absolute worth- 
lessness of the form of godliness when the power is 
utterly lacking! "If the salt have lost his savor, 
wherewith shall it be salted ? " How can its salting, 
conserving property be recovered ? What can you do 
with it ? So your savorless religion is not only worth- 
less in its influence on others, but of no good to your- 
self. It will save neither them nor you from corrup- 
tion. How sad for one to have lost the power that 
belongs to the Christian calling, and instead of being 
the instrument of saving others, becoming a means 
of their perdition ! Well does the Saviour say, in an- 
other place, " Have salt in yourselves." 

D. D. DEMAREST. 

matt. Ye are the light of the world. 

v. 14. Every Christian is placed in a centre, of which the 
globe is the circumference; and each must fill that 
circumference, as every star forms a centre, and 
shines through the whole sphere; and yet all meet 
and mingle, forming one vast field of light. 

SPENCER. 

168 



Thoughts from My Library 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see matt. 
your good works, and glorify your Father which is v - 
in heaven. 

They say the world has an eagle eye for anything 
inconsistent; and it has an eagle eye, sharp to discover 
the vagaries and inconsistencies in the defaulty and the 
unworthy. It has an eagle eye; but the eagle winks 
before the sun, and the burning iris of its eye shrinks 
abashed before the unsullied purity of noon. Let your 
light so shine before men, that others, awed and 
charmed by the consistency of your godly life, may 
come to inquire, and to say they have been with 
Jesus. PUNSHON. 

Think not I am come to destroy the law: I am matt. 
. . . come . . . to fulfill. v - l l- 

The ten stones of the arch on which our domestic 
happiness, the purity of society, the security of life and 
property, and the prosperity of nations stand, the Son 
of God came from heaven, our substitute, to obey; with 
His blood, not to abrogate, but to enforce; on His cross 
to exalt, not in His tomb to bury; and, cementing the 
arch with His precious blood, to lend to laws that had 
the highest authority of Sinai, the no less solemn and 
more affecting sanctions of Calvary. guthrie. 

When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and, when matt. 
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is y i- 6. 
in secret. 

Secret devotions resemble the rivers which run 
under the earth; they steal from the eyes of the world 
to seek the eyes of God; and it often happens that 
those of whom we speak least on earth, are best 
known in heaven. caussin. 

169 



One Thousand and One 



The closets of God's people are where the roots of 
the church grow. And if the roots be not nourished, 
there can be no tree with branches and fruit. In many 
senses the root of the plant is the most important part 
of it. Men do not see it. It is hidden away down 
under the ground. Yet in the dark it works away, 
and in its secret laboratory it prepares the life which 
goes up into the plant or tree, and manifests itself in 
trunk and branches, in leaves and fruits. The beauti- 
ful leaf-fabrics are woven down in the looms of that 
dark earth-factory. The colors that tint the flowers 
are prepared in that lowly workshop. The little blocks 
that are piled in silence, one by one, as the fabric of 
the tree goes up, are hewn out in the secret quarries of 
the roots. He that would bless a tree must first bless 
its roots. So it is in the spiritual life. It is not the 
closet which men see. It is not a man's secret, per- 
sonal religious life which the world understands and 
praises. Yet it is in the closet that the roots of his life 
grow. And if the roots be not nourished, then the 
tree will soon die. j. R. miller. 

matt. Our Father. 

VL 9- There is one thing more pitiable, almost worse than 
even cold, black, miserable atheism. To kneel down 
and say, " Our Father," and then to get up and live an 
orphaned life. To stand and say, " I believe in God 
the Father Almighty," and then to go fretting and fear- 
ing, saying with a thousand tongues, " I believe in the 
love of God ! — but it is only in heaven. I believe in 
the power of God ! — but it stoppeth short at the stars. 
I believe in the providence of God! — but it is limited to 
the saints in Scripture. I believe that ' the Lord reign- 

170 



Thoughts from My Library 



eth'— only with reference to some far-off time with 
which we have nothing to do." That is more insult- 
ing to our heavenly Father, more harmful to the world, 
more cheating to ourselves, than to have no God at 

all. MARK GUY PEARSE. 

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. matt. 

There is a cathedral in Europe with an organ at each VL I0, 
end. Organ answers organ, and the music waves 
backward and forward with indescribable effect. The 
time will come when heaven and earth will be but 
different parts of one great accord. It will be joy here 
and joy there! Jesus here and Jesus there! Trumpet 
to trumpet! Organ to organ! Hallelujah to hallelu- 
jah. TALMAGE. 

Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. matt. 

A friend of mine who had been in Eastern lands told VL 21 * 
me he saw a shepherd who wanted his flock to cross a 
river. He went into the water himself and called 
them; but no, they would not follow him into the 
water. What did he do ? Why, he girded up his 
loins, and lifted a little lamb under each arm and 
plunged right into the stream, and crossed it without 
even looking back. When he lifted the lambs the old 
sheep looked up into his face and began to bleat for 
them ; but when he plunged into the water the dams 
plunged after him, and then the whole flock followed. 
When they got to the other side he put down the 
lambs, and they were quickly joined by their mothers, 
and there was a happy meeting. Our great Divine 
Shepherd does this. Your child which He has taken 
from the earth is but removed to the green pastures of 
Canaan, and the Shepherd means to draw your hearts 

171 



One Thousand and One 



after it, to teach you to " set your affections on things 
above." moody. 

matt. No man can serve two masters. 

vi. 24. When you see a dog following two men, you know 
not to which of them he belongs while they walk to- 
gether; but let them come to a parting road, and one 
go one way, and the other another way, then you will 
know which is the dog's master. So at times will you 
and the world go hand in hand. While a man may 
have the world, and a religious profession too, we can- 
not tell which is the man's master, God or the world: 
but stay till the man comes to a parting road; God 
calls him this way, and the world calls him that way. 
Well, if God be his master, he follows religion, and 
lets the world go ; but if the world be his master, then 
he follows the world and the lusts thereof, and lets 
God, and conscience, and religion go. r. erskine. 

matt. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and Ms righteons- 

vi. 33. ness. 

When some peculiar pressure is upon you, be like 
Queen Esther, whose first request was the king's com- 
pany. In each trial "seek first the kingdom of God 
and His righteousness," and all other things shall be 
added: your seeking first the removal of the trial 
shows that you need the continuance of it. 

matt. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

vl - 34- Sometimes I compare the troubles we have to un- 
dergo in the course of a year to a great bundle of fag- 
ots, far too large for us to lift. But God does not 
require us to carry the whole at once: He mercifully 
unties the bundle, and gives us, first one stick, which 

172 



Thoughts from My Library 



we are to carry to-day; and then another, which we 
are to carry to-morrow; and so on. This we might 
easily manage if we would only take the burden ap- 
pointed for each day; but we choose to increase our 
trouble by carrying yesterday's stick over again to-day, 
and adding to-morrow's burden to our load before we 
are required to bear it. john newton. 

You remember how Leonidas, the Spartan, kept 
back the Persian hosts. He stood in the narrow pass 
of Thermopylae, and as the foe came up, one by one, 
each man was able to push back his enemy, and they 
might have kept Greece thus for many a day. But 
suppose Leonidas and his handful of men had gone 
out into the wide open plain, and attacked the Persians 
— why, they must have died at once, though they 
should have fought like lions. Christian, stand you in 
the narrow pass of to-day, and as your troubles come, 
one by one, by faith you shall find out that your 
strength is sufficient for you; but if you go out into 
the vast plain of time, and think to meet all the trou- 
bles that shall ever come at once, it must be too much 
for you. Will you please not to borrow misery, for 
you will have enough of your own. spurgeon. 

By their fruits ye shall hnozu them. matt. 

Some people can talk Christianity by the yard, but vl1 ' 2C 
they cannot walk it by the inch. blaisdell. 

Some church-members have their roots on one side 
of the church wall and their boughs all hang over and 
drop the fruit on the world's side. It is not only a 
question of where your roots are, but where the 
boughs hang and the apples fall. We want more in 

173 



One Thousand and One 



these days of clear, distinct, emphatic, Christly re- 
ligion, so that we do not need to look into the church- 
roll to find out whether a man is a Christian or not. 

CUYLER. 

There is a counterfeit olive-tree in Palestine. It is 
called the wild olive, or the oleaster. It is in all points 
like the genuine tree, except that it yields no fruit. 
Alas! how many wild olives are there in the church! 
When I see a man taking up large space in Christ's 
spiritual orchard, and absorbing a vast deal of sunlight 
and soil, and yielding no real fruit, I say, "Ah! there 
is an oleaster ! " bowes. 

matt. / am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to re- 

ix. 13. pentance. 

Among the several wonders of the loadstone, this 
is not the least, that it will not draw gold nor pearl, 
but, despising these, it draws the iron to it, one of the 
most inferior metals: thus Christ leaves the angels, 
those noble spirits, the gold and the pearl, and He 
comes to poor sinful man, and draws him into His em- 
braces. T. WATSON. 

matt. According to your faith be it unto you. 
ix. 29. Faith never goes home with an empty basket. 

ELIJAH P. BROWN. 

So it ever is. Christ's mercy, like water in a vase, 
takes the shape of the vessel that holds it. On the one 
hand, His grace is infinite and "is given to every one 
of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ," 
with no limitation but His own unlimited fullness; on 
the other hand, the amount we practically receive from 

174 



Thoughts from My Library 



that inexhaustible store is determined by the measure 
and the purity and the intensity of our faith. On His 
part there is no limit but infinity; on our side the limit 
is our capacity, and our capacity is settled by our de- 
sire. His word to us ever is, "Open thy mouth 
wide and I will fill it." " Be it unto thee even as thou 
wilt." McLaren. 



// shall be given you in that same hour. matt. 

How often hast thou found thyself, at the entrance x - l 9- 
into a duty, becalmed, as a ship, which, at first setting 
sail, hath hardly wind to swell its sails while under the 
shore and shadow of the trees, but meets a fresh gale 
of wind when got into the open sea! Yea^ didst thou 
never launch out to duty as the apostles to sea, when 
the wind in thy face, as if the Spirit of God, instead of 
helping thee on, meant to drive thee back, and yet 
hast found Christ walking to thee before the duty was 
done, and a prosperous voyage made of it at last? 
Abraham saw not the ram which God had provided 
for his sacrifice till he was in the mount. In the 
mount of prayer God is seen, even when the Christian 
does often go up the hill toward duty with a heavy 
heart because he can as yet have no sight of Him. 
Turn not, therefore, back, but go on with courage: He 
may be nearer than thou thinkest. "In that same 
hour," saith Christ, "it shall be given unto you." 

GURNALL. 

He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is matt. 

not worthy of me. x. 38. 

The cross is easier to him who takes it up than to 
him who drags it along. j. e. vaux. 

175 



One Thousand and One 



matt. Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little 
x. 42. ones a cu p 0 j co id wa ter . . . he shall in no- 
wise lose his reward. 

Life affords but few opportunities of doing great 
services for others; but there is scarcely an hour of the 
day that does not afford us an opportunity of perform- 
ing some little, it may be unnoticed kindness. 

BOWES. 

matt. Come unto me . . . and I will give you rest 
xi 28 

The needle in the compass never stands still till it 
comes right against the north pole. The wise men of 
the East never stood still till they were right against 
the star which appeared unto them; and the star itself 
never stood still till it came right against that other 
Star, which shone more brightly in the manger than 
the sun did in the firmament. So the heart of man 
can find no rest till it comes to Christ. 

This is a tired world! Multitudes tired of body or 
tired of mind or tired of soul! Every one has a bur- 
den to carry, if not on one shoulder, then on the other. 
In the far East, water is so scarce that if a man owns 
a well, he is rich; and battles have been fought for 
the possession of a well of water. But every man 
owns a well, a deep well, — a well of tears. Chemists 
have tried to analyze a tear, and they say it is made of 
so much of this and so much of that, but they miss 
important ingredients. A tear is agony in solution. 
But by divine power, it may be crystallized into spirit- 
ual wealth, and all burdens may be lifted. God is the 
rest of the soul that comes to Him. He rests us by 
removing the weight of our sin and by solacing our 
griefs with the thought that He knows what is best 

176 



Thoughts from My Library 



for His children. A wheat sheaf cried out to the 
farmer, " Why do you smite me with that flail ? What 
have I done that you should so cruelly pound me?" 
But when the straw had been raked off the wheat and 
put in the mow, and the wheat had been winnowed 
by the mill and had been piled in rich and beautiful 
gold on either side the barn door, then the straw looked 
down from the mow and saw why the farmer had 
flailed the wheat sheaf. talmage. 

Ye shall find rest unto your souls. matt. 

Rest unto our souls! — 'tis all we want, the end of XL 2 9- 
all our wishes and pursuits. Give us a prospect of 
this, we take the wings of the morning, and fly to the 
uttermost parts of the earth to have it in possession, 
till, after many miserable experiments, we have been 
seeking everywhere for it but where there is a pros- 
pect of finding it: that is within ourselves, — in a meek 
and lowly disposition of heart. sterne. 

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. matt. 

There is so much correspondence betwixt the heart X1L 
and tongue, that they will move at once. Every man, 
therefore, speaks of his own pleasure and care. If the 
heart were full of God, the tongue could not refrain 
to talk of Him: the rareness of Christian communica- 
tion argues the common poverty of grace. If Christ 
be not in our hearts, we are godless; if He be there 
without our joy, we are senseless; if we rejoice in 
Him, and speak not of Him, we are shamefully un- 
thankful. I will think of Thee always, O Lord; so it 
shall be my joy to speak of Thee often; and if I find 
not opportunity, I will make it. bishop hall. 

177 



One ^Thousand and One 

matt. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brh'g- 

xii. yj. eth forth good things; and an evil man 9 out of the 

evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things. 

When the wheels of a clock move within, the hands 
on the dial will move without. When the heart of a 
man is sound in conversion, then the life will be fair in 
profession. 

matt. The cares of this world . . . choke the word, and 

xiii. 22. he becometh unfruitful. 

We cannot grow good wheat if we also grow the 
thorns of the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of 
riches and the pleasures of this life. 

matt. Let both grow together until the harvest. 
xiii. 30. it is God's way to let "both grow together." Here 
are lessons of patience and of charity. If God can 
wait, His servants can. If the Master of the harvest 
can bear with the tares, His children need not be anx- 
ious about them. The wheat and the tares in their 
early growth are alike; the best farmer cannot distin- 
guish them. God sees the difference; man cannot, 
but "the day will declare it." There is no tareless 
wheat-field, there is no pure Church on earth. The 
tares will not always be hidden, but when God's sickle 
is thrust in they will be given to the fire. The wheat 
will all be gathered in due time, — not one of God's 
children will be lost. When we see the tares, let us 
be patient; we would have cast Judas out long before 
Jesus did. He may try the faith, the charity, and the 
patience of His people now, by leaving Judas in the 
Church, as He did then. 

Be charitable. What you think to be tares may be 
God's wheat. What if they walk not with us ? They 

178 



Thoughts from My Library 



may be for us. Bear with human frailty and sin; you 
also are frail and sinful. It is safe to leave the results 
with God. h. h. jessup. 

He went up into a mountain apart to pray. matt. 

We may well take the lesson which Christ's prayers xlv - 2 3- 
teach us, for we all need it — that no life is so high, so 
holy, so full of habitual communion with God that it 
can afford to do without the hour of prayer, the secret 
place, the uttered word. . . . The life that was 
all one long prayer needed the mountain top, and the 
nightly converse with God. He who could say, "The 
Father hath not left me alone, for I do always the 
things that please Him," felt that He must also have 
the special communion of spoken prayer. What 
Christ needed we cannot afford to neglect. 

mclaren. 

Lord, help me. matt. 

There is a chain of but three links in this prayer of xv - 2 5 
the poor woman of Canaan, but it reaches a long way. 
Some of the most beautiful prayers ever uttered are 
very short prayers. This is a very short prayer — any 
child can say it. There are three links in the chain, 
mark you. One link is on the throne of God; it is 
"Lord." The other link is down here; it is "me." 
And then there is a great link between that and this; 
it is "help." " Lord, help me." And the greater your 
need, the more that middle link in the chain will ex- 
press. MARCUS RAINSFORD. 

Truth, Lord: yet. matt. 

"Truth, Lord: yet!" is the sum and substance of xv * 2 7« 
faith. If we have learned to combine these words, we 

179 



One Thousand and One 



have learned to believe. Truth, Lord: "sin has 
abounded unto death"; yet "hath Thy grace much 
more abounded unto life." Truth, Lord: "cursed is 
every one that abideth not in all things which are 
written in the book of the law to do them "; yet, " He 
who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might 
be made the righteousness of God in Him." Truth, 
Lord, is the sea of our sin and guilt, and the righteous 
anger of God; yet, is the rock of Christ's redemption 
and love. Truth, Lord, is a view of self; yet, is a 
view of Jesus. saphir. 

matt. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. 

xv. 28. Qj^ t h e victories of prayer! They are the mountain 
tops of the Bible. They take us back to the plains of 
Mamre, to the fords of Peniel, to the prison of Joseph, 
to the triumphs of Moses, to the transcendent victories 
of Joshua, to the deliverances of David, to the miracles 
of Elijah and Elisha, to the whole story of the Master's 
life, to the secret of Pentecost, to the keynote of Paul's 
unparalleled ministry, to the lives of saints and the 
deaths of martyrs, to all that is most sacred and sweet 
in the history of the Church and the experience of the 
children of God. And when, for us, the last conflict 
shall have passed, and the footstool of prayer shall 
have given place to the harp of praise, the spots of 
time that shall be gilded with the most celestial and 
eternal radiance, shall be those, often linked with 
deepest sorrow and darkest night, over which we 
have the inscription, " Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord 
was there!" simpson. 

matt. How many loaves have ye ? 
xv * 34' Christ puts that question day by day to each one of 

180 



Thoughts from My Library 



us. There be many that say, "I have no work for 
Christ, and no mission. Mine is no lofty station, mine 
is no large sphere, mine is no eloquent tongue, or 
popular manner, or telling influence. It is too late for 
me — or perhaps, for the heart is versatile in its deceit- 
fulness, it is too soon for me — to undertake anything 
for Christ; the King of Glory wants chief men, choice 
gifts, for His ministries: let me live out my little day 
and go back to the ground from which I was taken." 
Gravely, sorrowfully, yet earnestly and gently too, 
does Christ address Himself to you to-day, saying, 
" Think yet once more — how many loaves have ye?" 
Nothing ? Not a soul ? Not a body ? Not time ? 
Not one friend, not one neighbor, not one servant, to 
whom a kind word may be spoken, or a kind deed 
done, in the name, for the love of Jesus ? Bring that — 
do that, say that — as what thou hast; very small, very 
trivial, very worthless, if thou wilt: yet remember the 
saying, " She hath done what she could." vaughan. 

Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. matt. 

Every variety of character has its own danger, per- xvl - ^ 
haps its own form of Pharisaism. It is easy for us to 
see the Pharisaism of others. We can stone the 
Pharisee in an indignant zeal, and what then ? When 
the storm is over, and we have hurled the lightnings, 
there stands the Master, with eyes that search us 
through, and He bends over us, and saith unto His 
disciples, first of all, "Beware ye of the leaven of the 
Pharisees." We, too, may have our own form of 
Pharisaism eating the life out of us; spoiling all the 
beauty and blessedness of our religion. To those that 
are nearest and dearest to Him this word is spoken by 
the Lord Himself. mark guy pearse. 

181 



One Thousand and One 



matt. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, 

xvi. 24. anc i fake u p iiis cross, and follow me. 

Christ's cross is the sweetest burden that ever I bore; 
it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or sails to a 
ship, to carry me forward to my harbor. 

RUTHERFORD. 

matt. Jesus taketh Peter, James and John . . . up into 
xvii. an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before 
l > 2 - them. 

Come close to Him. He may take you to-day up 
into the mountain top, for where He took Peter with 
his blundering, and James and John, those sons of 
thunder, who again and again so utterly misunder- 
stood their Master and His mission — there is no reason 
why He should not take you. You can hardly be 
farther back than they were. So don't shut yourself 
out of it and say, " Ah, these wonderful visions and 
revelations of the Lord are for choice spirits, for an 
election within the election! " They may be for you. 
The Lord will come to those that are humble and of a 
contrite heart and who tremble at His Word. 

McNEILL. 

matt. His face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was 

xvii. 2. white as the light. 

If a thing reflects no light, it is black ; if it reflects 
part of the rays, it is blue or indigo or red ; but, if it 
reflects them all, it is white. If we are like Christ, we 
shall seek, not to absorb, but to reflect, the light which 
falls upon us from heaven upon others: and thus we 
shall become pure and spotless; for this is the mean- 
ing of the "white robes," which the saints wear in 
glory. BEECHER. 

182 



Thoughts from My Library 



With God all things are possible. matt. 

Our God does not need noble characters, as the x ^ x * 
ground-work of His masterpieces. He can raise up 
stones as children. He can turn thorns into fir-trees, 
briars into myrtle-trees. He can take fishermen from 
their nets, and publicans from their toll-booths, 
making them into evangelists, apostles, and martyrs. 
We are not much by nature — wild, bad blood may be 
flowing in our veins; but God will be the more 
magnified, if from such stones He can raise up chil- 
dren unto Abraham. The miracle of His grace and 
power will bring more conspicuous glory to His holy 
name, in proportion to the unpromising character of 
the materials on which He works. f. b. meyer. 



Behold, we go up to Jerusalem. matt. 

Never had there been such a going up to Jerusalem xx - ^ 
as that which Jesus here proposes to His disciples. 
Jesus goes up voluntarily. The act was not enforced 
by any external compulsion. Jerusalem might at this 
time have been avoided. It was deliberately sought. 
Jesus was hereby fulfilling the Father's will, executing 
the mission on which He had been sent. It was after 
this journey that He said, "I have finished the work 
Thou gavest Me to do." His going up was a part of 
that work. Hence it was right for Him to go up, 
although He knew that betrayal, arrest, condemnation 
and crucifixion awaited Him. It was a going up to a 
triumph to be reached through defeat, a coronation to 
be attained through ignominy and humiliation. 

O believer, in your walk through the world to-day, 
be strengthened, be comforted, be inspired, by the 
spectacle of the Captain of your salvation thus going 

i8 3 



One Thousand and One 



up to Jerusalem ! And remember in all those appar- 
ently downward passages of life, where sorrow and it 
may be death, lie before you, that all such descents, 
made or endured in the spirit of Jesus, are really up- 
goings, steps leading you to the mount of God and the 
resurrection glory. Joseph b. stratton. 

matt. All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, 
[Xi.22. y e shall receive. 

Prayer is the bow, the promise is the arrow: faith 
is the hand which draws the bow, and sends the 
arrow with the heart's message to heaven. The bow 
without the arrow is of no use; and the arrow with- 
out the bow is of little worth; and both, without the 
strength of the hand, to no purpose. Neither the 
promise without prayer, nor prayer without the 
promise, nor both without faith, avail the Christian 
anything. What was said of the Israelites, " They 
could not enter in, because of unbelief," the same may 
be said of many of our prayers: they cannot enter 
heaven, because they are not put up in faith. 

SALTER. 

matt. Ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed ap- 
xxm. pear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead 
2 7* men's bones and of all uncleanness. 

In the olden times even the best rooms were usually 
of bare brick or stone, damp and mouldy, but over 
these in great houses when the family was resident, 
were hung up arras or hangings of rich materials, be- 
tween which and the walls persons might conceal 
themselves, so that literally walls had ears. It is to be 
feared that many a brave show of godliness is but an 
arras to conceal rank hypocrisy; and this accounts for 

184 



Thoughts from My Library 



some men's religion being but occasional, since it is 
folded up or exposed to view as need may demand. 
Is there no room for conscience to pry between thy 
feigned profession and thy real godliness and bear 
witness against thee ? Remember, if conscience do it 
not, certainly "the Watcher and the Holy One" will 
make a thorough search within thee. spurgeon. 

The door was shut. matt. 

The door of mercy has hinges, and it may be shut, x * v - 
and then locked with the adamantine key of justice. 

RALEIGH. 



10. 



After a long time the lord . . . cometh and reck- matt. 

oneth with them. xxv. 

An Eastern allegory runs thus: A merchant, going ! 9' 
abroad for a time, gave respectively to two of his 
friends two sacks of wheat each, to take care of 
against his return. Years passed: he came back, and 
applied for them again. The first took him into his 
storehouse, and showed them him; but they were 
mildewed and worthless. The other led him out into 
the open country, and pointed out field after field of 
waving corn, the produce of the two sacks given him. 
Said the merchant, "You have been a faithful friend. 
Give me two sacks of that wheat: the rest shall be 
thine." 

Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make matt. 

thee ruler over many things. xxv. 

Your "few things" may be very few, and very 21 ' 
small things, but He expects you to be faithful over 

them. FRANCES RIDLEY havergal. 

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One Thousand and One 



matt. Well done, good and faithful servant. 
xxv. yj le Hebrews have a saying, that God takes more 
delight in adverbs than in nouns; 'tis not so much the 
matter that's done, but the matter how 'tis done, that 
God minds. Not how much, but how well! 'Tis the 
well-doing that meets with a well-done. Let us, 
therefore, serve God not nominally or verbally, but 
adverbially. Venning. 

The master's approval is the servant's best wages. 

Mclaren. 

matt. He . . . said .../... hid thy talent 
xxv. { n f ne earth. . . . His Lord answered and said 
2 4~ 2 ^' un f 0 hi mj Jhou wicked and slothful servant. 

Between the great things we cannot do and the 
small things we will not do, the danger is that we 
shall do nothing. monod. 

matt. Before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall 
xxv. separate them one from another. 
3 2 ' It is a remarkable fact, that while the baser metals 
are diffused through the body of the rocks, gold and 
silver usually lie in veins; collected together in dis- 
tinct metallic masses. They are in the rocks but not 
of them. . . . And as by some power in nature 
God has separated them from the base and common 
earths, even so by the power of His grace will He 
separate His chosen from a reprobate and rejected 
world. GUTHRIE. 

matt. Come, ye blessed of my Father. . . . Inasmuch as 
xxv. ye have done it unto one of the least of these my 
34, 40. brethren ye have done it unto me. 

Services rendered for Christ never stop, talmage. 
186 



Thoughts from My Library 



Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of matt. 

these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. xxv - 

It is to motives God looks, not results. Fidelity not 4 °* 

success regulates the final reward. macduff. 

Not as I will, but as thou wilt. matt. 

A man's will should be an echo, not a voice; the XXVL 
echo of God, not the voice of self. McLaren. ^' 

Thy will be done. matt. 

"Thy will be done" is the keynote to which every XXVL 
prayer must be tuned. a. j. Gordon. 

The eleven disciples went . . . into a mountain matt. 
where Jesus had appointed them. . . . Jesus x ? vll g 
came and spake unto them saying . . . Go ye j ' 1 
and teach all nations. 

The considerable actions in the world have usually 
very small beginnings. Of a few letters, how many 
thousand words are made! of ten figures, how many 
thousand numbers! A point is the beginning of all 
geometry. A little stone flung into a pond makes a 
little circle, then a greater, till it enlarges itself to both 
the sides. So from small beginnings God doth cause 
an efflux through the whole world. charnock. 

Lo, I am with you alway. matt. 

A mother one morning gave her two little ones xxviii. 
books and toys to amuse them, while she went to at- 2a 
tend to some work in an upper room. A half hour 
passed quietly; and then a timid voice at the foot of 
the stairs called out, "Mamma, are you there?" — 
"Yes, darling." — "All right, then;" and the child 
went back to its play. By and by the question was 

i8 7 



One Thousand and One 



repeated, "Mamma, are you there?" — "Yes." — "All 
right, then;" and the little ones, reassured of their 
mother's presence, again returned to their toys. Thus 
we, God's little ones, in doubt and loneliness, look up 
and ask, "My Father, art Thou there?" and when 
there comes, in answer, the assurance of His presence, 
our hearts are quieted. 

The best test of apostolic succession is apostolic 
success. 

mark The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 
lm lm See what vitality the Gospel has! Plunge her under 
the wave, and she rises the purer from her washing; 
thrust her in the fire, and she comes out the more 
bright for her burning; cut her in sunder, and each 
piece shall make another church; behead her, and, 
like the hydra of old, she shall have a hundred heads 
for every one you cut away. She cannot die, she 
must live; for she has the power of God within her. 

SPURGEON. 

mark Peace, be still. 

7 - 39- It was eventide. The setting sun perchance smiled 
a farewell, flooding the waters with golden light. The 
sky was cloudless. Gennesaret reposed in quiet love- 
liness, like Lucerne in Switzerland, or beautiful Loch 
Lomond among the Scottish hills. The disciples were 
not afraid as they embarked. Suddenly the storm 
swept down upon them. The angry waves smote the 
little ship. Skillful hands plied their oars in vain. 
They were in jeopardy. Then, in answer to their 
cry, the Christ arose. It needed but a word : " Peace, 
be still." "There was a great calm." 
And this is life. One hour all is bright and peace- 
188 



Thoughts from My Library 



ful; the next, the billows break over us, the desire of 
our hearts dies, human help avails nought. Within 
the soul itself are all the elements of unrest. When 
conscience convinces of sin, and memory recalls our 
selfishness and ingratitude, our own unworthiness is 
revealed. We are in despair. 

Blessed be God, we have a sure refuge! He who 
calmed the troubled waters speaks peace to human 
hearts. His blood atones for every sin; His grace sup- 
plies every need. Begin my soul, this day with a 
penitent, trustful prayer to Him, and through its toil- 
some or suffering hours shall come the cheering refrain, 
"Peace, be still." edward a. reed. 

(Jesus) . . . looked up to heaven. mark 
In working for God, first look to heaven. It is a vi. 41. 
grand plan. Over and over again, our Lord Jesus 
Christ looked to heaven and said, "Father." Let us 
imitate Him; although standing on the earth, let us 
have our conversation in heaven. Before you go out, 
if you would feed the world, if you would be a bless- 
ing in the midst of spiritual dearth and famine, lift up 
your head to heaven. Then your very face will shine, 
your very garments will smell of myrrh and aloes and 
cassia out of the ivory palaces where you have been 
with your God and Saviour. There will be stamped 
upon you the dignity and power of the service of the 
Most High God. mcneill. 

Looking up to heaven, he sighed. mark 

Too often we sigh and look within: Jesus sighed vii - 34- 
and looked without. We sigh, and look down; Jesus 
sighed, and looked up. We sigh, and look to earth; 

189 



One Thousand and One 

Jesus sighed, and looked to heaven. We sigh, and 
look to man; Jesus sighed, and looked to God! 

STORK. 

mark Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself 
vni.34. and take up his cross and follow me. 

Men will wrangle for religion, write for it, fight for 
it, die for it; anything but — live for it. colton. 

mark What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, 
viii.36. m ^ i ose ^ s own SQU i f 

As you love your soul, beware of the world; it 
has slain its thousands and ten thousands. What 
ruined Lot's wife ? The world. What ruined Judas ? 
The world. What ruined Simon Magus ? The world. 
And " what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul ?" 

mark Master, it is good for us to be here : and let us make 
lx - 5- three tabernacles. 

If the contemplation of Christ's glorified manhood 
so filled the apostle with joy that he was unwilling to 
be sundered from it, how shall it fare with them who 
attain to the contemplation of His glorious Godhead ? 
And if it was so good a thing to dwell with two of 
His saints, how then to come to the " heavenly Jeru- 
salem, to the general assembly and church of the first- 
born which are written in heaven, and to God, the 
Judge of all " — these not seen through a glass darkly 
but face to face ? anselm. 

Jesus only. 

The fullness of heaven is Jesus Himself. 
The duration of heaven is the eternity of Jesus. 
The light of heaven is the face of Jesus. 

190 



MARK 
ix. 8. 



Thoughts from My Library 



The joy of heaven is the presence of Jesus. 
The melody of heaven is the name of Jesus. 
The harmony of heaven is the praise of Jesus. 
The theme of heaven is the work of Jesus. 
The employment of heaven is the service of Jesus. 

If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him mark 
that believeth. ix. 23. 

What inexhaustible possibilities lie in faith! God 
Himself is the unseen Author of the visible universe 
and it was by faith that the worlds were framed, so 
that things that are seen were not made of things that 
do appear. In the sublime galaxy woven with divine 
hand all in and through the eleventh chapter of 
Hebrews, the light that shines from every star is faith. 
It was this that carried Noah across the flood. It was 
this that gave strength to Moses to deliver the people of 
God from Egypt, to train them in the wilderness, and 
to transfer them to the Promised Land. It was this 
that enabled Israel to hold to the hope of the promise 
until Jesus came. This animated the feeble few of 
Galilee to carry the Gospel to the perishing world. 
This is the power by which every sainted Christian 
has triumphed in life and in death and entered home at 
last. Our blessed Saviour is Himself the Author and 
the Finisher of faith. w. w. page. 

One thing thou lackest. mark 
The want of one thing may make void the presence x - 21 ■ 
of all things else. Lacking its mainspring — which is 
but one thing — a watch with jewels, wheels, pinions, 
and beautiful mechanism, the finest watch, indeed, 
that was ever made, is of no more use than a stone. 
A sundial without its gnomen, — as it is called, Time's 

191 



One Thousand and One 



iron finger that throws its shadow on the circling 
hours, — but one thing also, is as useless in broad day 
as in the blackest night. A ship may be built of the 
strongest oak, with masts of the stoutest pine, and 
manned by the best officers and crew, but I sail not in 
her if she lacks one thing — that trembling needle 
which the child running about the deck might fancy a 
toy; on that plaything, as it looks, the safety of all on 
board depends — lacking that, but one thing, the ship 
shall be their coffin, and the deep sea their grave. It 
is thus with true piety, with living faith. guthrie. 

mark // is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a 
x - 2 5- needle, than for a rich man to enter into the king- 
dom of God. 

In Oriental cities there are in the large gates small 
and very low apertures, called metaphorically 
" needles' eyes," just as we talk of windows on ship- 
board as " bulls' eyes." These entrances are too nar- 
row for a camel to pass through them in the ordinary 
manner, even if unloaded. When a loaded camel has 
to pass through one of these entrances, it kneels 
down, its load is removed, and then it shuffles through 
on its knees. "Yesterday," writes Lady Duff Gordon 
from Cairo, "I saw a camel go through the eye of a 
needle, that is, the low, arched door of an enclosure. 
He must kneel and bow his head to creep through; 
and thus the rich man must humble himself." 

mark With God all things are possible. 

x - 2 7- Unbelief says, "How can such and such things 
be?" It is full of "Hows"; but faith has one great 
answer to ten thousand " Hows," and that answer is, 

— God. C. H. McINTOSH. 



Thoughts from My Library 



Ye know not what ye ask. mark 

In every true prayer there are two hearts in exercise. x ' 
The one is your heart, v/ith its little, dark, human 
thoughts of what you need and God can do. The 
other is God's great heart, with its infinite, its divine 
purposes of blessing. What think you ? to which of 
these two ought the larger place to be given in your 
approach to Him ? Undoubtedly, to the heart of God: 
everything depends upon knowing and being occu- 
pied with that. But how little this is done. This is 
what waiting on God is meant to teach you. Just 
think of God's wonderful love and redemption, of the 
meaning these words must have to Him. Confess 
how little you understand what God is willing to do 
for you, and say each time as you pray: "And now 
what wait I for ? " My heart cannot say. God's heart 
knows and waits to give. "My hope is in Thee." 
Wait on God to do for you more than you can ask or 

think. ANDREW MURRAY. 

Beware of the scribes . . . which devour widows 1 mark 
houses, and for a pretence make long prayers. xii. 
One ought to talk only as loud as he lives. ^> 4°- 

To every man his work. mark 

In the marts of commerce, in the looms of labor, xlll -34- 
while the sun is climbing hotly up the sky, and the 
race of human pursuits and competitions is going vig- 
orously on, there is work enough for the sincere and 
honest workman. The sphere for personal improve- 
ment was never so large. To brace the body for serv- 
ice or for suffering; to bring it into subjection to the 
control of the master-faculty; to acquaint the mind 
with all wisdom; to hoard with miser's care every 

193 



One Thousand and One 



fragment of beneficial knowledge; to twine the beau- 
tiful around the true, as the acanthus-leaf around the 
Corinthian pillar; to quell the sinward propensities of 
nature; to evolve into the completeness of its moral 
manhood; to have the passions in harness, and firmly 
curb them; "to bear the image of the heavenly"; to 
strive after "that mind which was also in Christ 
Jesus," — here is a field of labor wide enough for the 
most resolute will. punshon. 

mark Ye know not when the master of the house cometh. 

in -35- Up, and be doing. The heavenly Master is on His 
journey, and the talents for use or abuse are now in 
our hands. Oh! let us not have to mourn, when too 
late, forfeited opportunities. The talents, ours to-day, 
may be demanded by the Owner to-morrow. 

MACDUFF. 

mark And what I say unto yon, I say unto all, Watch. 
m -31- A Christian is always on duty, mark guy pearse. 

mark Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached . . . 
:lv - 9- this . . . that she hath done shall be spoken of 
for a memorial of her. 

That which we do for ourselves is forgotten; that 
which we do for Christ is immortal. talmage. 

Not what I will, but what thou wilt. 

The one misery of man is self-will, the one secret of 
blessedness is the conquest over our own wills. 

McLaren. 

Blessed is she that believed : for there shall be a per- 
formance of those things which were told her from 
the Lord. 

Yes, it is the performance that is so often lacking, 



MARK 
Xiv.36. 



LUKE 

i. 45. 



Thoughts from My Library 



because the faith is not forthcoming on our part. We 
admire the green pastures of God's word, but fail to 
lie down and rest our souls upon them. We are 
caught in the Slough of Despond, and never see the 
steps of promise, all ready there to guide us out. We 
are shut up in Doubting Castle, and the key of God's 
promise lies rusty and unused. We lose heart, and 
faint, and give up the fight, when one taste of the rich 
cordial of God's promises would give us fresh life and 
vigor. 

How much simpler our lives would be, how power- 
ful and free from care and worry, if we only believed 
that in Christ there is all we need to satisfy every 
longing of our heart, to make us thoroughly happy 
and useful and holy. f. s. webster. 

She . . . laid him in a manger. luke 
Great Prince of Peace, the manger was Thy royal 1L '* 
cradle! Therein wast Thou presented to all nations as 
Prince of our race, before Whose presence there is 
neither barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Thou 
art Lord of all. Kings, your gold and silver would 
have been lavished on Him if ye had known the Lord 
of Glory; but inasmuch as ye knew Him not, He was 
declared with demonstration to be a leader and a wit- 
ness to the people. The things which are not, under 
Him shall bring to nought the things that are, and the 
things that are despised, which God hath chosen, shall 
under His leadership break in pieces the might, and 
pride, and majesty of human grandeur. 

O ye poor, be glad, for Jesus is born in poverty, and 
cradled in a manger. O ye sons of toil rejoice, for the 
Saviour is born of a lowly virgin, and a carpenter is His 

*95 



One Thousand and One 



foster-father. O ye people, oftentimes despised and 
downtrodden, the Prince of the Democracy is born; 
one chosen out of the people is exalted to the throne. 
O ye who call yourselves the aristocracy, behold the 
Prince of the kings of the earth, whose lineage is 
divine. Behold, O men, the Son of God, who is born 
of your bone, intimate with all your griefs, who in His 
after-life hungered as ye hunger, was weary as ye are 
weary, and wore humble garments like your own; 
yea, suffered worse poverty than you, for He was 
without a place whereon to lay His head. 

SPURGEON. 

luke Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a 
n ' llm Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 

We esteem every day alike, but still as the season 
and the general custom suggest thoughts of Jesus, let 
us joyfully remember our dear Redeemer's glorious 
birth. Every day should be the birthday of the Saviour 
to a renewed soul. Amid all that is humiliating there 
is much that is honorable in the circumstances of the 
birth of our Immanuel. Whose birth was ever ushered 
in by a long train of prophecy, or longed for by such a 
multitude of hearts ? Who but He can boast of a fore- 
runner who marked Him as the coming Man ? When 
did angels indulge in midnight songs, or did God ever 
hang a new star in the sky before? To whose cradle 
did rich and poor make so willing a pilgrimage, and 
offer such hearty and unsought oblations ? Well 
may earth rejoice, well may all men cease their labor 
to celebrate " the great birthday " of Jesus. O Bethle- 
hem, house of bread, we see in thee our hopes forever 
gratified! " Tis He, the Saviour, long foretold, to 
usher in the age of gold." Let gladness rule the hour; 

196 



Thoughts from My Library 



let holy song and sweet heart-music accompany our 
soul in its rapture of delight. spurgeon. 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good luke 
will toward men. h. 14. 

How painfully and wearily one thousand years of 
the world's existence rolled along, and no Christ. 
Two thousand years, and no Christ. Three thousand 
years, and no Christ. Four thousand years, and no 
Christ. "Give us a Christ," had cried Assyrian, and 
Persian, and Chaldean, and Egyptian civilizations, but 
the lips of the earth and the lips of the sky made no 
answer. 

The world had already been affluent of genius. 
Among poets had appeared Homer, and Thespis, and 
Aristophanes, and Sophocles, and Euripides, and Alexis 
/Eschylus; yet no Christ to be the most poetic figure 
of the centuries. Among historians had appeared 
Herodotus, and Xenophon, and Thucydides; but no 
Christ from whom all history was to date backward 
and forward — b. c. and a. d. Among conquerors 
Camillus, and Manlius, and Regulus, and Hannibal, and 
Scipio, and Pompey, and Csesar; yet no Christ, who 
was to be conqueror of earth and heaven. 

But the slow century, and the slow year, and the 
slow month, and the slow hour at last arrived. The 
world had had matins or concerts in the morning and 
vespers or concerts in the evening, but now it is to 
have a concert at midnight. The black window-shut- 
ters of night were thrown open, and some of the best 
singers of the world stood there, and, putting back the 
drapery of cloud, chanted a peace anthem, until all the 
echoes of hill and valley applauded and encored the 
Hallelujah chorus. talmage. 

197 



One Thousand and One 



^ luke There was a man . . . whose name was Simeon ; 
1L 2 5- and the same man was just and devout, waiting for 
the consolation of Israel. 

Some one has written beautifully of Simeon as fol- 
lows: "What Simeon wanted to see was the Lord's 
Christ. Unbelief would suggest to him, ' Simeon, you 
are an old man, your day is almost ended, the snow of 
age is upon your head, your eyes are growing dim, 
your brow is wrinkled, your limbs totter, and death is 
almost upon you: and where are the signs of His com- 
ing ? You are resting, Simeon, upon imagination — it 
is all a delusion.' 'No,' replied Simeon, ' I shall not 
see death till I have seen the Lord's Christ; I shall see 
Him "before I die.' I can imagine Simeon walking out 
one fine morning along one of the lovely vales of Pal- 
estine, meditating upon the great subject that filled his 
mind. Presently he meets a friend. ' Peace be with you; 
have you heard the strange news ? ' ' What news ? ' re- 
plies Simeon. ' Do you not know Zacharias the priest ? ' 
'Yes, well.' 'According to the custom of the priest's 
office, his lot was to burn incense in the temple of the 
Lord, and the whole multitude of the people were 
praying without. It was the time of incense, and 
there appeared unto him an angel, standing on the 
right side of the altar, who told him that he should 
have a son, whose name should be called John; one 
who should be great in the sight of the Lord, who 
should go before the Messiah and make ready a peo- 
ple prepared for the Lord. The angel was Gabriel 
who stands in the presence of God, and because Zach- 
arias believed not, he was struck dumb.' 'Oh,' says 
Simeon, ' that fulfills the prophecy of Malachi. This is 
the forerunner of the Messiah: this is the morning 

198 



Thoughts from My Library 



star: the day dawn is not far off: the Messiah is nigh 
at hand. Hallelujah! The Lord shall suddenly come 
to His temple! ' Time rolls on. I can imagine Simeon 
accosted again by one of his neighbors: 'Well, Sim- 
eon, have you heard the news?' * What news ? ' 
' Why there's a singular story in everybody's mouth. 
A company of shepherds were watching their flocks 
by night on the plains of Bethlehem. It was the still 
hour of night, and darkness mantled the world. Sud- 
denly a bright light shone around the shepherds, a 
light above the brightness of the midday sun. They 
looked up, and just above them was an angel who 
said to the terrified shepherds, ' Fear not, I bring you 
glad tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people! ' 
'This is the Lord's Christ,' said Simeon, 'and I shall 
not taste death till I have seen Him.' He said to him- 
self, ' They will bring the child to the Temple to pre- 
sent Him to the Lord.' 

"Away went Simeon, morning after morning, to 
see if he could get a glimpse of Jesus. Perhaps unbe- 
lief suggested to Simeon, 'You had better stop at 
home this wet morning: you have been so often and 
have missed Him : you may venture to be absent this 
once.' ' No,' said the Spirit, ' go to the Temple.' Sim- 
eon would no doubt select a good point of observa- 
tion. See how intently he watches the door! He 
surveys the face of every child as one mother after 
another brings her infant to be presented. 'No,' he 
says, 'that is not He.' At length he sees the Virgin 
appear, and the Spirit tells him it is the long-expected 
Saviour. He clasps the Child in his arms, presses Him 
to his heart, blesses God, and says: 'Lord, now lettest 
Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy 

199 



One Thousand and One 



word. For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which 
Thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a 
light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy peo- 
ple Israel.' " 

luke // is written. 

iv. 4. <<j t j s wr j tten » should be in the heart and on the 
lips of every Christian. " It is written " should decide 
every controversy, settle every doubt, and overcome 
every difficulty. f. whitfield. 

luke And he entered into one of the ships which was 

v - 3- Simon's. 

Do you envy this fisherman who lent his boat to 
Jesus ? He offers us the same honor; He begs us to do 
Him the same favor; He comes to each of us and asks 
us to let Him have our daily occupation as His preach- 
ing place — the office and workshop, the counter, the 
desk, the mother's work in the home, the servant's 
work in the house — this is the pulpit He seeks. Will 
you let Him have it to-day ? mark guy pearse. 

luke He . . . continued all night in prayer to God. 

L I2, We never read that Joshua's hand was weary with 
wielding the sword, but Moses' hand was weary with 
holding the rod. The more spiritual the duty, the 
more apt we are to tire of it. We could stand and 
preach all day; but we could not pray all day. We 
could go forth to seek the sick all day, but we could 
not be in our closets all day one half so easily. To 
spend a night with God in prayer would be far more 
difficult than to spend a night with man in preaching. 
Oh! take care, take care, Church of Christ, that thou 
dost not cease thy prayers ! spurgeon. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



He loveth our nation and he hath built us a synagogue, luke 
Marble and granite are perishable monuments, and V1L 5- 
their inscriptions may be seldom read. Carve your 
names on human hearts ; they alone are immortal! 

CUYLER. 

Thy faith hath saved thee. luke 

Whosoever will go to heaven must have a faith of V1L 5°* 
his own. In Gideon's camp, every soldier had his own 
pitcher; among Solomon's men of valor, every one 
wore his own sword : and these were they that got the 
victories. The five wise virgins had every one oil in 
her lamp; and only these went in with the bridegroom. 
Another's eating of dainty meat makes thee none the 
fatter. T. adams. 

Take heed . . . how ye hear. luke 

There are four different kinds of hearers of the word, 
— those like a sponge, that suck up good and bad to- 
gether, and let both run out immediately; those like a 
sand-glass, that let what enters in at one ear pass out 
at the other, hearing without thinking; those like a 
strainer, letting go the good, and retaining the bad; 
and those like a sieve, letting go the chaff, and retain- 
ing the good grain. boston. 

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, luke 
and take up his cross daily, and follow me. lx - 2 3- 

We are wont to say that Christ died that we might 
not die. We should speak more truly if we affirmed 
that He died that we might die. He died for sin that 
we might die to sin; He bore our guilt in His own 
body that we might bear about His dying in our 
bodies. . . . 

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One Thousand and One 



Our wills surrender to Christ's, even as His will 
was surrendered to the Father's; our self-pleasing 
daily foregone for His sake Who ''pleased not Him- 
self"; our ease surrendered day by day in order that 
we may endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus 
Christ, — these are the crucial tests of discipleship. 
Our souls are saved only by Christ's outward cross of 
atonement; they are sanctified only by His inward 
cross of self-abnegation. a. j. Gordon. 

luke Who is my neighbor ? 
x. 29. <<Who is thy neighbor?" It is the sufferer, wher- 
ever, whoever, whatsoever he be. Wherever thou 
hearest the cry of distress, wherever thou seest any one 
brought across thy path by the chances and changes of 
life (that is, by the Providence of God), whom it is in 
thy power to help, — he, stranger or enemy though he 
be, — he is thy neighbor. a. p. Stanley. 

luke A . . . Samaritan . . . had compassion on 
x - 33> him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, 
34- pouring in oil and wine. 

Thomas Fuller tells of a knight, one Gervase Scroop, 
who received twenty-six wounds in the battle of 
Edgehill, and was left for dead amid heaps of slain. 
The next day his son Adrian sought his corpse to give 
it a decent burial. When found, the body was not 
quite cold, and the son began to use the means for 
restoration, which met with entire success, and the 
knight lived more than ten years, a monument of his 
son's affection. There are many souls left as dead, 
among the slain, along the highways of sin, whom 
diligent personal effort would rescue. Surprising suc- 
cess often attends this work. 

202 



Thoughts from My Library 



At Jesus' feet. luke 
At Jesus' feet — that is our place of privilege and of x * 39- 
blessing, and here it is that we are to be educated and 
fitted for the practical duties of life. Here we are to 
renew our strength while we wait on Him, and to 
learn how to mount on wings as eagles ; and here we 
are to become possessed of that true knowledge which 
is power. Here we are to learn how real work is to 
be done, and to be armed with the true motive-power 
to do it. Here we are to find solace amidst both the 
trials of work, and they are not few, and the trials of 
life in general; and here we are to anticipate some- 
thing of the blessedness of heaven amidst the days of 
earth; for to sit at His feet is indeed to be in heavenly 
places, and to gaze upon His glory is to do what we 
shall never tire of doing yonder. aitken. 

Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about luke 
many things : but one thing is needful. x. 41, 

Hurry is the working of the flesh; faith, like God, 

works at leisure. 

Thy will be done. luke 
What to others are disappointments, are to believers, XL 2 - 
intimations of the way and will of God. 

JOHN NEWTON. 

Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the in- luke 
heritance with me. xn - l 3- 

The requests we make of God interpret our char- 
acter. They show us as we are. God reads our 
character in our prayers. What we love best, what 
we covet most, that gives the key to our hearts. 

CUYLER. 

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One Thousand and One 



luke But God said unto him, Thou fool! this night thy soul 
xn. 20. shall be required of thee. 

God called him a fool in his last hour, and he who 
dies a fool is a fool forever. talmage. 

luke Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father 1 s good pleas- 
xii. 32. ure f 0 g{ ve y 0U tft e kingdom. 

In these words we read the future destinies of the 
world. When an Alexander arises and hurries through 
the world, snatching crowns on the right hand and on 
the left, and threatening to take unto himself all sub- 
lunary power, the people of God are told to fear not; 
the kingdom is for them, not him. So too when a 
Julius Caesar grasps at the sceptre of universal domin- 
ion. And when a Napoleon appears on the scene, 
they calmly wait to see him and his kingdom vanish. 
For they have looked with Daniel on the image that 
expressed beforehand the vicissitudes of the world 
from the Babylonian dominion down to the time when 
dominion is given unto the Son of Man, and by Him 
to the saints of the Most High. " The meek shall in- 
herit the earth." Not only is there for them an inherit- 
ance reserved in heaven; but thrones shall come down 
from heaven and be set upon the earth; and they shall 
sit thereon. " For we shall reign on the earth." 

Who are these unmanifested kings and priests ? 
They are now a little company of sheep; a little flock; 
willing to be inglorious, poor, weak, despised, re- 
jected; fitting themselves to be all that is great and 
excellent and powerful, by their willingness to be noth- 
ing. BO wen. 

luke / pray thee have me excused. 
xiv, 18. a soldier who went to the war took with him some 

204 



Thoughts from My Library 



of the small instruments of his craft — he was a watch- 
maker and repairer — thinking to make some extra 
shillings now and then while in camp. He did so. 
He found plenty of watches to mend, and almost for- 
got that he was a soldier. One day, when ordered off 
on some duty, he exclaimed, " Why, how can / go? 
I've got ten watches to mend! " Some Christians are 
so absorbed in self-seeking that they are ready to say 
to the Master's call, "I pray thee have me excused!" 
They are nominally soldiers of Christ, but really only 
watch-menders. 

They all . . . began to make excuse. luke 

Excuses are easily made. There is no action so xiv- 1 ^. 
trivial, no crime so great, but the selfish heart can 
frame an excuse for it. But are these excuses valid ? 
Will our self-vindication absolve us at the judgment- 
seat of Christ ? "He knoweth our hearts." They are 
not even satisfactory to ourselves, — much less to God. 
Sinner, if you have a valid excuse for impenitence, 
write it out; nay, cast it in brass, hang it up in your 
house; delight in it, for it is your savior; and teach it 
to others, that they may share your joy. When you 
come to die, take it with you down into the grave; 
when the trump of God calls the dead to judgment, 
convey it to the throne, and show it to the Judge. If 
it will justify you in life, it will excuse you in eternity. 

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over luke 
one sinner that repenteth. xv - I0 - 

You remember the occasion when the Lord met 
with thee. O, little didst thou think what a commo- 
tion was in heaven. If the queen had ordered out all 
her soldiers, the angels of heaven would not have 

205 



One Thousand and One 



stopped to notice them. If all the princes of earth 
had marched through the streets, with all their jewelry, 
and robes, and crowns, and all their regalia, their 
chariots, and their horsemen; if the pomp of ancient 
monarchs had risen from the tomb; if all the mighty 
of Babylon, and Tyre, and Greece had been concen- 
trated in one great parade; yet not an angel would 
have stopped in his course to smile at these poor, 
tawdry things ; but over you, the vilest of the vile, the 
poorest of the poor, over you angelic wings were 
hovering, and concerning you it was said on earth and 
sung in heaven, " Hallelujah, for a child is born to God 
to-day!" spurgeon. 

luke How many hired servants of my father s have bread 

r - l l- enough and to spare ? 

The rabbis report, that, when Joseph gathered much 
corn in Egypt, he threw the chaff into the Nile, that, 
flowing to the neighboring cities and nations more 
remote, they might know what abundance was laid 
up for them. So God hath thrown some husks to us 
in this world, that, tasting the sweetness thereof, we 
might aspire to His bounty above. If there be such 
glory in God's footstool, what will there be in His 
throne ? If He give us so much in the land of our 
pilgrimage, what will He not give us in our own 
country ? if so much to His enemies, what will He 
not give to His friends ? spencer. 

luke He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful 
nA0 - also in much. 

The least action of life can be as surely done 
from the loftiest motive as the highest and the 
noblest. Faithfulness measures acts as God measures 

206 



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them. True conscientiousness deals with our duties 
as God deals with them. Duty is duty, con- 
science is conscience, right is right, and wrong is 
wrong, whatever sized type they be printed in. 
" Large " or "small " are not words for the vocabulary 
of conscience. It only knows two words, — right, and 
wrong. McLAREN. 

When ye shall have done all those things which are luke 
commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants. XV1L 
Of one thing we may be sure, — if we have all that 
we want in any sphere of effort or influence, we have 
a lower standard than we ought to have. The best 
worker is always behind where he would like to be. 
His ideal is ever ahead of him. 



XVlll. 

10. 



The one a Pharisee and the other a publican. luke 

One begins by reforming his neighbors and the 
other by reforming himself; the one by looking 
around, and the other by looking within; the one by 
sweeping the streets of the city, the other by cleans- 
ing the rooms of his own house; the one by attempt- 
ing to re-model society, the other by seeking a change 
in his own character. 

How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the luke 
kingdom of God. xviii. 
It is not the fact that a man has riches which keeps 2 4- 

him from the kingdom of God — but the fact that 

riches have him. 

The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which luke 
was lost. xix.io. 

Without the Son of Man our daily duties and pleas- 
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One Thousand and One 



ures are the aimless wanderings of men lost in a track- 
less existence. Under His guidance they are marches 
to a definite end. If that end is not always clear to us 
or to others it is to Him. He not only comes to seek, 
but to save. We respond to the seeking voice, and at 
once the work of salvation begins. a. brooks. 

luke In your patience possess ye your souls. 

a. 19. a glance at our Revised Version, " In your patience 
ye shall win your souls," shows us that this text is a 
promise, not a command, a blessed hope, not a stern 
ordinance. What is the spirit of this promise ? " Souls" 
is rendered in the margin, " lives"; and the thought 
of winning one's life, is of accomplishing the highest 
end of life, and of realizing its highest possibility of 
power and of peace. Regarded in this light, how 
sweet is the promise for those who are compelled to 
live in this impetuous, harassing generation! By pa- 
tience, we shall win our lives! Impatience in our 
work; the chafing of the spirit against providential 
restrictions; the wild haste to be rich; the intolerant 
and consuming ambition, which to satisfy itself will 
crush a path over the rights of others, — these are char- 
acteristic types of world-life to be seen around us every 
day. But the servant of the Lord must not, will not 
abandon himself to this impatient, selfish strife. He 
will maintain the bright example of the patient Jesus. 
He will discern by the light of the Holy Spirit's teach- 
ing that the highest end of our life on earth cannot be 
won by the selfish and the impatient; he will receive 
the strength to remember that impatience is waste and 
loss, the strength to live in the hourly atmosphere of 
that blessed prayer for every busy and every earnest 

life. CHAS. CUTHBERT HALL. 

208 



Thoughts from My Library 



My blood, which is shed for you. 

I dare assert, without fear of successful contradic- 
tion, that the inspired writers attribute all the blessings 
of salvation to the precious blood of Jesus Christ. If 
we have redemption, it is through His blood; if we are 
justified, it is by His blood; if washed from our moral 
stains, it is by His blood, which cleanseth us from all 
sin; if we have victory over the last enemy, we obtain 
it not only by the word of the divine testimony, but 
through the blood of the Lamb; and, if we gain admit- 
tance into heaven, it is because we ' ' have washed our 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, 
and therefore are we before the throne of God." Every- 
thing depends on the blood of Christ; and "without 
shedding of blood is no remission." r. newton. 

The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath de- luke 
sired to have you that he may sift you as wheat: but xxn * 
/ have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. 3 ! » 3 

God's wheat must go through Satan's sieve, but their 

faith shall not fail. 

The Lord turned and looked upon Peter. luke 
We wonder sometimes when God is so great, so xx ^- 
terrible in majesty, that He uses so little violence with 
us, who are so small. But it is not His way. His 
way is to be gentle. He seldom drives, but draws. 
He seldom compels, but leads. He remembers we are 
dust. ... So God is gentle with us all — mold- 
ing us and winning us many a time with no more 
than a silent look. Coarse treatment never wins souls. 
So God did not drive the chariot of His omnipotence 
up to Peter and command him to repent. God did 
not threaten him with the thunderbolts of punishment. 

209 



One Thousand and One 



God did not even speak to him. That one look laid a 
spell upon his soul which was more than voice or lan- 
guage through all his after life. drummond. 

When they were come to the place which is called Cal- 
vary, there they crucified him. 
Away on the frontier of our country, out on the 
prairies, where men sometimes go to hunt, or for 
other purposes, the grass in the dry season sometimes 
catches fire, and you will see the flames uprise twenty 
or thirty feet high, and roll over the Western desert 
faster than any fleet horse can run. Now, what do 
the men do ? They know it is sure death unless they 
can make some escape. They would try to run away, 
perhaps, if they had fleet horses. But they can't; that 
fire goes faster than the fleetest horse can run. What 
do they do ? Why, they just take a match, and they 
light the grass from it, and away it burns, and then 
they get into that burnt district. The fire comes on, 
and there they stand perfectly secure. There they stand 
perfectly secure — nothing to fear. Why? Because 
the fire has burned all there is to burn. Such a place 
is Mount Calvary. moody. . 

Mount Calvary is lord of the Sacred Mountains, and 
by its baptism of blood and agony, its moral grandeur, 
and the intense glory that beams from its summit, is 
worthy to crown the immortal group. Its moral 
height no man can measure, for though its base is on 
the earth, its top is lost in the heaven of heavens. 
The angels hover around the dazzling summit, strug- 
gling in vain to scale its highest point, which has 
never yet been fanned by even an immortal wing. 
The divine eye alone embraces its length and breadth, 

210 



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and depth and height. Oh, what associations cluster 
around it! what mysteries hover there! and what reve- 
lations it makes to the awe-struck beholder! Mount 
Calvary! at the mention of that name the universe 
thrills with a new emotion, and heaven trembles with 
a new anthem, in which pity and exultation mingle in 
strange yet sweet accord ! headley. 

He made as though he would have gone further. luke 
Is not God always acting thus ? He comes to us by *g 1V * 
His Holy Spirit as He did to these two disciples. He 
speaks to us through the preaching of the gospel, 
through the Word of God, through the various means 
of grace, and the providential circumstances of life; 
and having thus spoken, He makes as though He 
would go further. If the ear be opened to His voice 
and the heart to His Spirit, the prayer will go up 
"Lord, abide with me." But if that voice makes no 
impression, then He passes on, as He has done thou- 
sands of times, leaving the heart at each time harder 
than before, and the ear more closed to His Spirit's 

Call. F. WHITFIELD. 

In him was life. john 
A great fable sometimes encloses a great truth. It L 4- 
is an old story of the Empress Helena, how she went 
to the Holy Land to find the cross. Excavations were 
made, and they found three crosses; but how were 
they to know which was the true one ? So they took 
a corpse, and put it upon one and another; and, as 
soon as the corpse touched the Saviour's cross, it. 
started into life. Now, you are demonstrating the 
divinity of Christianity, and that is how you test it, — 
it makes these dead men live. coley. 

21 1 



One Thousand and One 



John Born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of 

u l 3- the will of man, but of God. 

A sculptor may take a piece of rough marble, and 
work from it the figure of a Madonna; but it is still 
nothing but marble, and lifeless. A carver may take a 
piece of wood, and work out of it a scene of con- 
viviality; but it is still wood, and insensible. A 
watch-cleaner may take a watch, the mainspring of 
which is broken: he may clean every wheel, cog, pin, 
hand, the face, and the cases; but, the mainspring 
not rectified, it will be as useless for going and time- 
telling as before. A painter may decorate the outside 
of a pesthouse with the most beautiful colors; but, if 
he produce no change within, it is still a pesthouse. A 
poor man may clothe himself in the garb of a mon- 
arch; but he is still a poor man. A leper may cover 
all his spots with his garment; but he is still a leper. 
So the sinner may reform in all the externals of his 
life, so that he shall attain to the moral finery of Saul 
of Tarsus, or Nicodemus, a master in Israel, but, ex- 
cept he be born again from above, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God. bate. 

john The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came 
i. 17- by Jesus Christ. 

The Law begins with commands and ends with bless- 
ings; but the blessings are fruit upon lofty branches, 
which fallen man can never reach: he cannot and will 
not climb the tree. The Gospel, on the contrary, be- 
. gins with promises, and promises give birth to pre- 
cepts. The Law demands justice; the Gospel delights 
in mercy through satisfied justice. Moses blesses the 
law-doer; Jesus pardons the guilty and saves the lost. 

212 



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Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. john 
Whatsoever God sees fit to require of us is great, be 1L 5- 
it of greater or lesser magnitude in appearance. 

d. o. MEARS. 

The fact that God has commanded us to do a thing 
proves that we can do it. guthrie. 



Born anew. john 
Nothing will produce a new life but a new nature. 3 

ARNOT. 



(R. V.). 



That which is born of the flesh is flesh. 

Streams rise no higher than their fountains. The 
idea of educing a spiritual nature out of the carnal, is 
to reverse an eternal law. 

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten john 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not hi. 16. 
perish, but have everlasting life. 
The cross is the stumbling-block against which the 
waves of eternal love broke into the silver spray of 
speech. Joseph parker. 

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten john 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not hi. 16. 
perish, but have everlasting life. 

Whosoever drinheth of the water that I shall give him 
shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him 
shall be in him a well of water springing up into 
everlasting life.— John iv. 14. 

God's business is not to be done wholesale. Christ's 
greatest utterances were delivered to congregations of 
one or two. moody. 

213 



One Thousand and One 



Christ died for sin. 
Believer dies to sin. 
Unbeliever dies in sin. 

John A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from 
ni - 2 7- heaven. 

As the rays come from the sun, and yet are not the 
sun ; even so our love and pity, though they are not 
God, but merely a poor, weak image and reflection of 
Him, yet from Him alone they come. If there is mercy 
in our hearts, it comes from the fountain of mercy. If 
there is the light of love in us, it is a ray from the full 
sun of His love. c. kingsley. 

^ john He must increase, but I must decrease. 

ill. 30. j n p ar t 0 f N ew England where I spend my sum- 
mer holiday, I have seen a parable of nature that sets 
forth union with Christ. It is an example of natural 
grafting, if you have ever seen such an instance. Two 
little saplings grew up side by side. Through the 
action of the wind they crossed each other; by and by 
the bark of each became wounded and the sap began 
to mingle, until in some still day they became united 
together. This process went on more and more, and 
by and by they were firmly compacted. Then the 
stronger began to absorb the life of the weaker. It 
grew larger and larger, while the other grew smaller 
and smaller; then it began to wither and decline, till it 
finally dropped away and disappeared, and now there 
are two trunks at the bottom and only one at the top. 
Death has taken away the one; life has triumphed in 
the other. 

There was a time when you and Jesus Christ met. 
The wounds of your penitent heart began to knit up 

214 



Thoughts from My Library 



with the wounds of His broken heart, and you were 
united to Christ. Where are you now ? Are the two 
lives running parallel, or has the word been accom- 
plished in you, " He must increase, but I must de- 
crease" ? Has that old life been growing less and less 
and less ? More and more have you been mortifying 
it, until at last it seems almost to have disappeared ? 
Blessed are ye, if such is the case. Then you can say, 
" I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life 
which I now live in the flesh, I live not of myself, but 
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and 
gave Himself for me." Henceforth "for me to live is 
Christ" — not two, but one. a. j. Gordon. 

My meat is to do the will of him that sent me. john 
Seek your life's nourishment in your life's work. lv - 34- 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

Do what God calls you to do and you are a success. 

TALMAGE. 

Rise, take up thy bed and walk. And immediately the John 
man . . . took up his bed and walked. v - 8> 9- 

When Diogenes heard Zeno with subtle arguments 
endeavoring to prove that there was no motion, he 
suddenly starts up, and walks. Zeno asking the cause 
thereof, said Diogenes, "Hereby I confute you, and 
prove that there is motion." Walking with God is the 
best way to confute them that think religion to be but 
a notion: living religion will prove that there is re- 
ligion. VENNING. 

Making himself equal with God. john 

It was during the reign of Theodosius the Great, in v - l8 - 
the fourth century, that the Arians made their most 

215 



One Thousand and One 



vigorous attempts to undermine the doctrine of the 
divinity of Jesus Christ. The event, however, of his 
making his son Arcadius partner with himself on his 
throne was happily overruled, in the following man- 
ner, to his seeing the God-dishonoring character of 
their creed. Among the bishops who came to con- 
gratulate him on the occasion was the famous and 
esteemed Amphilochus, who, it is said, suffered much 
under the Arian persecution. He approached the em- 
peror, and, making a very handsome and dutiful ad- 
dress, was going to take his leave. "What!" said 
Theodosius, " do you take no notice of my son ? Do 
you not know that I have made him a partner with 
me in the empire?" Upon this the good old bishop 
went to young Arcadius, then about sixteen years of 
age, and, putting his hand upon his head, said, "The 
Lord bless thee, my son!" and immediately drew 
back. Even this did not satisfy the emperor. "What," 
said he, "is this all the respect you pay to a prince 
that I have made of equal dignity with myself ? " Upon 
this the bishop arose, and looking the emperor in the 
face, with a tone of voice solemnly indignant, said, 
"Sir, do you so highly resent my apparent neglect of 
your son because I do not give him equal honor with 
yourself ? What must the eternal God think of you, 
who have allowed His co-equal and co-eternal Son to 
be degraded in His proper divinity in every part of 
your empire ?" This was a two-edged sword in the 
heart of the emperor. He felt the reproof to be just 
and confounding, and no longer would seem to give 
the least indulgence to that creed which did not se- 
cure the divine glory to the " Prince of peace." 

JEFFERS. 

216 



Thoughts from My Library 



Search the scriptures. john 

The truths of the Bible are like gold in the soil. v ' 39- 
Whole generations walk over it, and know not what 
treasures are hidden beneath. So centuries of men 
pass over the Scriptures, and know not what riches 
lie under the feet of their interpretation. Sometimes, 
when they discover them, they call them new truths. 
One might as well call gold newly dug new gold. 

BEECHER. 

Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be john 
lost. vi - I2 - 

Why ? Because they all come from Jesus, and noth- 
ing that comes from Him must be lost. Your mis- 
spent moments, your tardy services, your sluggish 
energies, your cold affections, your omitted duties — 
"gather them up." They are lying on the ground, 
but must not remain there. Gather them up and use 
them for His glory. Ask the Lord to revive His work 
in your soul. Ask for a quickened spirit; for more 
zeal, more devotion, more love to His cause. Awake 
from slumber! Shake off all earthly, carnal sleep. 
Thousands are perishing around you! Thousands are 
dying in sin! The angel of death is on the wing, and 
the coming of the Lord draweth nigh! Up and warn 
the world! Be active, diligent, persevering for Christ! 
"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing 

be lost." F. WHITFIELD. 

/ am the living bread which came down from heaven, john 

Christ calls Himself "the living bread" — the manna Yl - 5 1 - 
which came down from heaven. Remember how the 
manna fell. It lay all round the tents of Israel. The 
Israelite could not stir from his tent without doing one 

217 



One Thousand and One 



of two things — he must either gather the manna, or 
trample upon it. Every man living is doing either the 
one or the other now. Either the one or the other 
you are doing. Which is it ? f. whitfield. 

He who has the Bread of heaven spends his life in 
the banqueting house of God. Joseph parker. 

john He that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 

• 57- To feed on Christ is to get His strength into us to 

be our strength. You feed on the cornfield, and the 
strength of the cornfield comes into you, and is your 
strength. You feed on Christ, and then go and live 
your life; and it is Christ in you that lives your life, 
that helps the poor, that tells the truth, that fights 
the battles, and that wins the crown. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

john The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and 

• 63. they are life. 

You cannot read the Bible as you do other books. I 
visited Mr. Prang's chromo establishment in Boston 
and saw the process of printing a picture of some 
public man. The first stone made hardly an impres- 
sion on the paper. The second stone showed no sign 
of change. The third no sign. The fifth and sixth 
showed only outlines of a man's head. The tenth, 
the man's face, chin, nose and forehead appeared. 
The fifteenth and twentieth looked like a dim picture. 
The twenty-eighth impression stood forth as natural as 
life. It looked as though it would speak to you. So, 
carefully and prayerfully read the Word of God — read 
the same chapter again and again — and the twenty- 
eighth time Christ Jesus will shine forth. moody. 

218 



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If any man zvilleth to do his will, he shall know of the john 

teaching: whether it be of God. l l 

(r v ) 

It requires a well-kept life to do the will of God, and 
even a better kept life to will to do His will. To be 
willing is a rarer grace than to be doing the will of 
God. For he who is willing may sometimes have 
nothing to do, and must only be willing to wait; and 
it is easier far to be doing God's will than to be will- 
ing to have nothing to do — it is easier far to be work- 
ing for Christ than it is to be willing to cease. 

DRUMMOND. 

Life fellowship with Jesus is the only school for the 
science of heavenly things. andrew Murray. 

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a john 
stone at her. viii. 7. 

Search thy friend for his virtues, thyself for thy 

faults. 

/ must work the works of him that sent me, while it is John 
day. ix. 4. 

Sins of commission are the usual punishment for 
sins of omission. He that leaves a duty, may well 
fear that he will be left to commit a crime. 

GURNALL. 

The night cometh, when no man can work. john 
We are all in this world on divine missions, we are 4- 
all sent from God to take some specific part in bless- 
ing the world. To do this we have just a day of time. 
A day is a brief time. It is a fixed time. When the 
sun comes to his going down, no power in the uni- 
verse can prolong his stay for one minute. 

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Yet the time is long enough for God's plan. The 
sun never sets too soon for His purpose. Each life is 
long enough for the little part of the world's work 
allotted to it. . . . No one can ever offer as an 
excuse for an unfinished life-work that the time given 
to him was too short. It is always long enough, if 
only every moment of it be filled with simple faith- 
fulness. 

To have our work completed at the end, we must 
do it while the day lasts, for there will be no oppor- 
tunity afterward. If we are living earnestly, we shall 
live all the time under the pressure of the conscious- 
ness that the time is short. We must not waste or 
lose a moment. Soon it will be night, when we can- 
not WOrk. J. R. MILLER. 

.john Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. 
x - 3& The life of a doctrine is in its application. 

john A stranger will they not follow. 

A traveller asserted to an eastern shepherd, that the 
sheep knew the dress of their master, not his voice. 
The shepherd to refute the point changed dresses with 
the traveller. He went among the sheep with the 
shepherd's dress, called the sheep, and tried to lead 
them, but they knew not his voice, and never moved. 
But when the shepherd called, though in a strange 
dress, they ran at once to him. " A stranger will they 
not follow." 

/ am the door. 

The ancient city of Troy had but one gate. Go 
round and round the city, you would have found no 
other. If you wanted to get in, there was but one 

220 



JOHN 

x. 9. 



Thoughts from My Library 



way. So to the golden city of heaven there is but one 
gate. Christ says, "I am the door/' 

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they john 
follow me. x - 2 7- 

The celebrated W. Jay of Bath was wont to say, 
that Christ's sheep were marked in the ear and the 
foot: "They hear My voice, and follow Me." 

When he heard therefore that he was sick, he abode john 
two days still in the same place where he was. x i- 6. 

And so, the silence of God was itself an answer. 
It is not merely said that there was no audible response 
to the cry from Bethany; it is distinctly stated that the 
absence of an audible response was itself the answer 
to the cry — it was when the Lord heard that Lazarus 
was sick that therefore He abode two days still in the 
same place where He was. I have often heard the 
outward silence. A hundred times have I sent up 
aspirations whose only answer has seemed to be the 
echo of my own voice, and I have cried out in the 
night of my despair, "Why art Thou so far from 
helping me ?" But I never thought that the seeming 
farness was itself the nearness of God — that the very 
silence was an answer. It was a very grand answer 
to the household of Bethany. They had asked not too 
much, but too little. They had asked only the life of 
Lazarus; they were to get the life of Lazarus and a 
revelation of eternal life as well. 

There are some prayers which are followed by a 
Divine silence because we are not yet ripe for all we 
have asked; there are others which are so followed 
because we are ripe for more. We do not always 
know the full strength of our own capacity; we have 

221 



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to be prepared for receiving greater blessings than we 
have ever dreamed of. We come to the door of the 
sepulchre and beg with tears the dead body of Jesus; 
we are answered by silence because we are to get 
something better — a living Lord. 

My soul, be not afraid of God's silence; it is another 
form of His voice; God's silence is more than man's 
speech; God's negative is better than the world's af- 
firmation. Have thy prayers been followed only by a 
calm stillness ? Well, and is not that God's voice — a 
voice that will suffice thee in the meantime till the full 
disclosure come ? Has He moved not from His place 
to help thee ? Well, but His stillness makes thee still, 
and He has something better than help to give thee. 
Wait for Him in the silence, and ere long it shall be- 
come vocal; death shall be swallowed up in victory. 

GEORGE MATHESON. 

john Are there not twelve hours in the day ? 
xi- 9- The very fact of a Christian being here, and not in 
heaven, is a proof that some work awaits him. 

ARNOT. 

john Our friend Lazarus sleep eth ; hut I go, that I may 
; i- !!• awake him out of sleep. 

Jesus called Lazarus His friend, — blessed title, glorious 
privilege, friend of Jesus ! Am I His friend ? He gives 
us the test, — " Ye are My friends if ye do whatsoever 
I command you." His command is, Trust Me, love 
Me, serve Me. Do I obey this ? Then I am Jesus' 
friend, and still more, He is my friend. This friend- 
ship is a treasure neither time nor chance, men nor 
devils, life nor death can take away. Let us not 
imagine Christ is not our friend because we suffer. 

222 



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He allowed Lazarus to die, yet we are told, Jesus loved 
Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Jesus' friends now 
on earth may all die, may all sleep ; but He has not 
forgotten them. One day He will say to the angels: 
"My friends sleep, but I go to awake them." Then 
"the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the 
trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 
then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught 
up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord 
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 

E. H. HARDING. 

Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it John 
abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much xlh 1 
fruit. 

This is the manner of God's proceedings, — to send 
good after evil, as He made light after darkness; to 
turn justice into mercy, as He turned water into wine. 
For as the beasts must be killed before they could be 
sacrificed, so men must be killed before they can be 
sacrificed; that is, the knife of correction must prune 
and dress them, and lop off their rotten twigs, before 
they can bring forth fruit. These are the cords which 
bind the ram unto the altar, lest, when he is brought 
thither, he should run from thence again; this is the 
chariot which carrieth our thoughts to heaven, as it 
did Nebuchadnezzar's; this is the hammer which 
squareth the rough stones till they be plain and smooth, 
and fit for the temple. h. smith. 

/, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men john 
unto me. xii. ; 

Archimedes wanted a fulcrum on which to place his 
223 



One Thousand and One 



lever, and then he said he could move the world. 
Calvary is the fulcrum, and the Cross of Christ is the 
lever; by that power all nations shall yet be lifted. 

TALMAGE. 

john What I do thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know 
xiii. 7. hereafter. 

A French artisan questioned much the dispensations 
of Providence in the government of the world. One 
day, in visiting a ribbon manufactory, his attention 
was attracted by an extraordinary piece of machinery. 
Countless wheels and thousands of threads were twirl- 
ing in all directions; he could understand nothing of 
its movements. He was informed however, that all 
this motion was connected with the centre, where 
there was a chest which was kept shut. Anxious to 
understand the principle of the machine, he asked per- 
mission to see the interior, " The master has the key," 
was the reply. The words were like a flash of light. 
Here was the answer to all his perplexed thoughts. 
Yes; the Master has the key. He governs and directs 
all. It is enough. 

john He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but 
xiii. 10. is clean every whit. 

I never understood the full meaning of our Lord's 
words in John xiii. 10, until I beheld the better sort of 
East Indian natives return home after performing their 
customary ablutions. The passage reads thus, "He 
that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but 
is clean every whit." Thus as they return to their 
habitations barefoot, they necessarily contract in their 
progress some portion of dirt on their feet; and this is 
universally the case, however nigh their dwellings may 

224 



Thoughts from My Library 



be to the riverside. When, therefore, they return, 
the first thing they do is to mount a low stool, and 
pour a small vessel of water to cleanse them from the 
soil which they may have contracted on their journey 
homewards; if they are of the higher class of society, 
a servant performs it for them, and then they are 
"clean every whit." Does not this in a figure repre- 
sent to us the defilement which a Christian contracts, 
although he may have been cleansed by faith in a 
crucified Saviour; and the necessity of a continual ap- 
plication of the precious blood of atonement, in order 
that the soul may be "clean every whit" ? 

STATHAM. 

/ have given you an example. john 

A Christian doing good should be like an artist xm - l 5* 
working from a model, looking alternately from the 
rude material in his hands up to the perfect example 
which he imitates, and down from that to the rude 
material again. arnot. 

Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his dis- john 
ciples whom Jesus loved. xiii. 23. 

God is to us what we are to God. Joseph parker. 

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one 
another ; as I have loved you. 

The love of Christ is a radiating love. The more we 
love Him, the more we shall love others. 

FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 

/ am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man john 
cometh unto the Father but by me. xiv. 6. 

A carpenter sees by his eye, when he applies the 

square, whether the wood be straight or not; but yet 

225 



JOHN 

xiii. 34. 



One Thousand and One 



his eye (without which he could not see) is not the 
judge to try whether the wood be straight or not: of 
that, the square alone is the judge. So reason in man, 
without which, it is true, he could not judge, is not 
the square to try what is right or wrong in order to 
salvation. The word of God alone can determine that. 

SPENCER. 

Whosoever is not in Him as the Way, is out of the 
way and lost; whosoever is not in Him as the Truth is 
in fatal error; whosoever is not in Him as the Life is 
dead in sins. john hall. 

john Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name that will I do. 
xiv.13. Christ . . . maketh intercession for us. — Rom. 

via. 34. 

As we say " for Jesus' sake" here, He says "for my 
sake " there. g. h. c. macgregor. 

john / am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 
xiv. 20. j n t h e translucent depths of the southern seas, the 
voyager is aware of the infinite variety of sponge 
growth, waving to and fro with the gentle movement 
of the tide; and the ocean is in the sponge, whilst the 
sponge is in the ocean, illustrating the reciprocal in- 
dwelling of the believer in Christ, and Christ in the be- 
liever. F. B. MEYER. 

john He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I 
xiv.21. W M love him and will manifest myself to him. 

That is the great law of manifestation. Have I a 
clear vision of God ? Then am I looking steadily at 
Him with a heart that longs to be pure. Can I not see 
Him ? Then some secret sins may be holding a veil 
before my eyes. / have changed, not God. When I 

226 



Thoughts from My Library 



seek Him He will be found of me; but if I desire Him 
not, He will be a God afar off. Joseph parker. 

We will . . . make our abode with him. john 

The abiding presence of God is the heritage of every xlv - 2 3- 
child of God. The Father never hides His face from 
His child. Sin hides it, and unbelief hides it; but the 
Father lets His love shine all the day on the face of His 
children. The sun is shining day and night. Your 
sun shall never go down. Come and live in the pres- 
ence Of God. ANDREW MURRAY. 

He shall teach you all things. John 

The Spirit is given to those who ask, for regenera- x ^ v - 2 ^- 
tion; to those who obey, for character; to those who 
wait, for power. 

Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgelh it, that it J 0HN 
may bring forth more fruit. xv * 2 * 

I know enough of gardening to understand, that, if 
I would have a tree grow upon its south side, 1 must 
cut off the branches there. Then all its forces go to 
repairing the injury; and twenty buds shoot out, 
where, otherwise, there would have been but one. 
When we reach the garden above, we shall find, that 
out of those very wounds over which we sighed and 
groaned on earth, have sprung verdant branches, bear- 
ing precious fruit, a thousandfold. beecher. 

When trees grow so that their branches are mostly 
on one side, we never restore branches to the deficient 
side by cutting the opposite side. We cut the most 
barren side, and there nature in seeking to restore 
what we cut, drives out new buds and branches. So 
the gardener knows that where he puts his knife there 

227 



One Thousand and One 



will follow the fruit of the tree. And blessed are they 

whom the Heavenly Husbandman prunes, that they 

may bring forth more fruit, if, when He cuts, there is 

a bud behind the knife. But woe to them who, being 

cut, have no bud to grow, and are more disbranched 

and barren from being pruned. beecher. 

• 

john Abide in me, and I in you. 

N ' 4' Abiding in Christ does not mean that you must al- 
ways be thinking about Christ. You are in a house, 
abiding in its enclosure or beneath its shelter, though 
you are not always thinking about the house itself. 
But you always know when you leave it. A man may 
not be always thinking of his sweet home circle; but 
he and they may nevertheless be abiding in each 
other's love. And he knows instantly when any of 
them is in danger of passing out of the warm tropic 
of love into the arctic region of separation. So we 
may not always be sensible of the revealed presence 
of Jesus; we maybe occupied with many things of 
necessary duty — but as soon as the heart is disengaged 
it will become aware that He has been standing near 
all the while; and there will be a bright flash of recog- 
nition, and a repetition of the Psalmist's cry, "Thou 
art near, O Lord." Ah! life of bliss, lived under the 
thought of His presence; as dwellers in Alpine valleys 
live beneath the solemn splendor of some grand snow- 
capped range of mountains! f. b. meyer. 

The indwelling is reciprocal. He is in us, and we 
are in Him. He is in us as the source of our being; 
we are in Him as filled with His fullness. He is in us 
all-communicative; we are in Him all-receptive. He is 
in us as the sunlight in the else darkened chamber; we 

228 



Thoughts from My Library- 



are in Him as the cold green log cast into the flaming 
furnace, glows through and through with ruddy and 
transforming heat. He is in us a*s the sap in the veins 
of the tree; we are in Him as the branches. 

Without me ye can do nothing. john 

There are two kinds of magnets, steel magnets and xv * 5- 
soft iron magnets. The steel magnet receives its mag- 
netism from the loadstone, and has it permanently; it 
can get along very well alone in a small way; it can 
pick up needles and do many other little things to 
amuse children. There is another kind of magnet 
which is made of soft iron, with a coil of copper wire 
round it. When the battery is all ready and the cups 
are filled with the mercury, and the connection is made 
with the wires, this magnet is twenty times as strong 
as the steel magnet. Break the circuit, and its power 
is all gone instantly. We are soft iron magnets; our 
whole power must come from the Lord Jesus Christ ; 
but faith makes the connection, and while it holds we 
are safe. c. d. foss. 

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, john 

"Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much xv - 
fruit," said Jesus. What a possibility, what an inspir- 
ation, that we can enhance the glory of " our Father"! 
Our hearts leap at the thought. How can this be 
done ? By bearing " leaves," — a profession of love for 
Him? No. By bearing some fruit ? No. "That ye 
bear much fruit." In the abundance of the yield is the 
joy, the glory, of the husbandman. We should there- 
fore aim to be extraordinary, " hundredfold " Chris- 
tians, satisfied with none but the largest yield. Our 
lives should be packed with good deeds. Then at 

229 



One Thousand and One 



harvest-time we can say " Father, I have glorified thee 
on the earth." This fruitfulness depends on the con- 
dition of the heart to receive the seed, the way in 
which we hear the Word. Combining the three ver- 
sions of the parable of the sower, we find that the 
characteristics of a good hearer are, — he understandeth 
the Word, he receiveth it, he keepeth it. Apprehen- 
sion of the Word, faith in the Word, obedience to the 
Word, — these three are indispensable to fruitfulness. 
"Take heed, therefore, how ye hear." Meditate, be- 
lieve, obey, "that ye shall neither be barren nor un- 
fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

W. B. JENNINGS. 

john That your joy might be full. 

T - 1 lm Full joy does not exclude sorrow, but it is a joy so 
deep that no sorrow can get below it. 

G. H. C. MACGREGOR. 

john Ye are my friends. 

r - l 4- Oh! Friends of God, why do you not make more 
of your transcendent privileges ? Why do you not 
talk to Him about all that wearies and worries you, as 
freely as Abraham did, telling Him about your Ish- 
maels, your Lots, and His dealings ? Why do you not 
fall on your faces while God talks with you ? Life 
should be one long talk between God and us. No day 
should close without our talking over its history with 
our patient, loving Lord: entering into His confes- 
sional; relieving our hearts of half their sorrow, and 
all their bitterness, in the act of telling Him all. And 
if only we get low enough, and be still enough, we 
shall hear His accents sweet and thrilling, soft and 
low, opening depths which eye hath not seen, nor ear 



Thoughts from My Library 



heard; but which He has prepared for those who 
love and wait for Him. f. b. meyer. 

Because ye are not of the world . . . therefore the john 
world hatethyou. x v. l 9- 

None of you can be the people of God without pro- 
voking envy; and the better you are, the more you 
will be hated. The ripest fruit is most pecked by the 
birds, and the blossoms that have been longest on the 
tree, are the most easily blown down by the wind. 
But fear not; you have naught to do with what man 
shall say of you. If God loves you, man will hate 
you; if God honors you, man will dishonor you. But 
recollect, could ye wear chains of iron for Christ's 
sake, ye should wear chains of gold in heaven; could ye 
have rings of burning iron round your waists, ye 
should have your brow rimmed with gold in glory; 
for blessed are ye when men shall say all manner of 
evil against you falsely, for Christ's name's sake; for 
so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. 

SPURGEON. 

When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and john 
of righteousness, and of judgment. x vi. 8. 

No human teacher can do it; conscience cannot do 
it; law in none of its forms, human or divine, can do 
it: nay, the gospel itself cannot do it. Although the 
Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, yet, unless 
the Spirit of God draws forth that sword, it lies pow- 
erless in its sheath. Only when the Spirit of God 
wields it, is it quick and powerful, and sharper than a 
two-edged sword, piercing to the dividing asunder of 
the soul and spirit, a discerner of the thoughts and 
purposes of the heart. Therefore, as the work of con- , 

231 



One Thousand and One 



vincing the world of sin is one which nothing less 
than the Spirit of God can effect, and which yet must 
be effected thoroughly, if sin is to be driven out from 
the world, our Saviour was mercifully pleased to send 
the Comforter to produce this conviction in mankind. 

HARE. 

john The Spirit of truth . . . will guide you into all 
x vi.i3- truth. 

The Bible is a temple. Unlike that in which Simeon 
stood, whose holiest courts were open only to a 
favored few, it is patent to every worshipper. Glori- 
ous temple it is! God's own words its living stones; 
His immutable promises its pillars; His oath and cov- 
enant its foundations; its walls salvation; its gates 
praise; Jesus Christ its corner-stone; prophets, apos- 
tles and saints its high priests, giving forth the re- 
sponses of Deity! But what will all the glories of 
this temple be to us, unless, like Simeon, we be led 
there of the Holy Ghost? Without His influence we 
shall find a deserted sanctuary. We may have the 
name of Jesus on our lips and His praises on our 
tongue; but without the Spirit of God, there will be 
" no beauty that we should desire Him." macduff. 

Truth may be compared to some cave or grotto 
with wondrous stalactites hanging from the roof, and 
others starting from the floor; a cavern glittering with 
spar and abounding in marvels. Before entering the 
cavern, you enquire for a guide who comes with his 
lighted flambeau. He conducts you down to a con- 
siderable depth, and you find yourself in the midst of 
the cave. He leads you through different chambers. 
Here he points you to a little stream rushing from 

232 



Thoughts from My Library 



amid the rocks, and indicates its rise and progress; 
there he points to some peculiar rock, and tells you its 
name, then takes you into a large natural hall, and 
tells you how many persons once feasted in it, and so 
on. Truth is a grand series of caverns, it is our glory 
to have so great and wise a conductor as the Holy 
Spirit. Imagine that we are coming to the darkness 
of it. He is a light shining in the midst of us to guide 
us. And by the light He shows us wondrous things. 
He teaches us by suggestion, direction and illumina- 
tion. SPURGEON. 

A little while, and ye shall not see me ; and again, a john 
little while, and ye shall see me. xv *- ^ 

Every day is bringing Christ's Advent nearer — less- 
ening the span of that arc of promise. The "little 
while, and ye shall not see Me," is widening; the 
"little while, and ye shall see Me," is diminishing. 
The church is like the shipmen in the Sea of Adria, 
who "deemed that they drew near to some country." 
The historian of Columbus speaks thus of the great 
discoverer's approach to the shores of the unknown 
New World: "The admiral gave orders that the sails 
should be close reefed and the lead kept going, and 
that they should sail closely, being afraid of shoals and 
breakers ; feeling certain that the first gleam of day- 
break would discover land under their bows." Is this 
true in a nobler sense of " the Better Country " ? Are 
we thus on the outlook to " see the King in His beauty, 
and the land that is very far off" ? macduff. 

Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he john 
will give it you. xvi.23. 

It is related of the celebrated scholar, Humboldt, 

233 



One Thousand and One 



that when he was travelling in tropical America, going 
chiefly by night to avoid the heat of the day, that his 
superstitious guides greatly reverenced the constella- 
tion of the Southern Cross, and directed their course 
by it. At that time this constellation reached the 
mid-heavens just before the break of day, so that its 
passage over the meridian was an indication that 
morning was approaching. He says frequently, when 
he was following after his train, and wearied by a 
night-long tramp, he could hear the guides shout, 
"Courage, comrades, the Cross begins to bend." So 
may the Christian soldier hear and regard this voice in 
the hour of his trials. In the darkness, and the weari- 
ness of lifelong labor, it is enough to know that the 
cross bends at the earnest pleading of faith and up- 
lifted prayer to God. You know where your strength 
lies, where you may burnish your weapons, where 
you may, indeed, stand forth renewed perpetually in 
the strength of grace. The cross of Christ is with us, 
and the power of that cross is efficacious to save to 
the uttermost. curry. 

john In me . . . peace. 

n -33- There is a plant called samphire, which grows only 
on cliffs near the sea. But though it grows near the 
salt waves, yet it is never found on any part of a cliff 
which is not above the reach of the tide. On one 
occasion, a party of shipwrecked sailors flung ashore 
were struggling up the face of precipitous rocks, 
afraid of the advancing tide overtaking them, when 
one of their number lighted upon a plant of samphire, 
growing luxuriantly. Instantly he raised a shout of 
joy, assuring his companions by this token that they 

234 



Thoughts from My Library 



were now in safety. The sea might come near this 
spot, and perhaps cast up its spray, but would never 
be found reaching it. Such is the position of a soul 
in Christ; justified and united to Him, the person may 
be in full sight still of the world's threatening and 
angry waves; but he is perfectly safe, and cannot be 
overwhelmed. bonar. 

In the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good John 
cheer : I have overcome the world. XVL ; 
The very fact that you have troubles is a proof of 
His faithfulness; for you have got one half of His 
legacy, and you will have the other half. You know 
that Christ's last will and testament has two portions 
in it. "In the world ye shall have tribulation :" you 
have got that. The next clause is — "In Me ye shall 
have peace." You have that too. ' ' Be of good cheer; 
I have overcome the world." That is yours also. 

SPURGEON. 

With what frankness Christ tells that the vessel of 
the Church shall not move over smooth seas, with 
favoring breezes filling her sails till she reaches the 
desired haven. No, not thus, but on the contrary, 
wind and wave shall often threaten shipwreck and 
disaster, though all shall be well at last. Perhaps 
your desponding heart replies, "This is tantalizing me, 
not helping. For He may well overcome, but that is 
not the same as my overcoming! " Is it not ? Think 
again, — think better of the Lord's most gracious words. 
Did He not say, " Because I live, ye shall live also " ? 
Every branch in the vine is one with the vine. Every 
believing sinner is a branch in the vine. You were 
united to Christ the first moment you leaned on Him. 

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One Thousand and One 



The Holy Spirit Who led you to Christ did also unite 
you to Him; and that union stands fast however great 
be your trials and tribulations. It was in your feeble 
nature ("the flesh is weak ") that He overcame tribu- 
lation, — tribulation ten thousand times more terrible 
than yours, — and He is following up His victory, when 
from day to day the feeblest disciple, simply leaning 
on Him, is shown to be mightier than all hell and 
stronger than the world. He would lose His fame as 
Conqueror if you, a member of His body, were to fail. 

BONAR. 

John / pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the 
xvn. world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the 
l 5 m evil. 

It is for active service soldiers are drilled, and 
trained, and fed, and armed. That is why you and I 
are in the world — not to prepare to go out of it some 
day, but to serve God in it now. drummond. 

john / in them. 

XV1L Does the Father find in Jesus no stain of sin ? He 
2 3' finds none, believer, in thee, for Jesus is thy righteous- 
ness. Does the Father visit Christ no more with 
judgment because He has fully judged Him as our sin 
bearer on the cross ? Then, believer, He judges thee 
no more, for "there is now no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus." Does the Father look upon 
the Son with complacency and delight? Then, be- 
liever, He rejoices over thee, for thou art "accepted in 
the Beloved." Dead with Christ, risen with Christ, 
exalted with Christ to the heavenly places, His right- 
eousness, His life, His glory, all are yours. 

236 



Thoughts from My Library 



Pilate saith unto him, What is truth ? John 

"What is truth?" In Latin this is "Quid est 
Veritas?" The letters can be arranged so as to read, * 
" Est vir, qui adest," meaning, " It is the man who is 
before you." 

They crucified him, and two others with him, on either john 
side one, and Jesus in the midst. x * x - 
Saved thief. Jesus. Unsaved thief. 1 

Sin in him Sin on Him Sin in him 
not on him. not in Him. and on him. 



// is Jinished. john 
There is intense joy in work when it is done and xlx - 
well done. The humblest mechanic feels this pleasure 
when he sees the article he has been making passing 
out of his hands perfect. The poet surely feels it 
when he writes Finis at the end of the work into 
which he has poured the full force of his genius. 
What must it have been to William Wilberforce to 
hear on his deathbed that the cause to which he had 
devoted the toil of a lifetime had triumphed, and to 
know that, when he died, there would not be a single 
slave breathing in any of the dependencies of Britain. 
Our Lord drank deeply of this well of pleasure. The 
work He was doing was done perfectly at every 
stage; and it was work of the most beneficent and en- 
during kind. As He saw part after part of it falling 
accomplished behind Him, as He saw hour after hour 
receding into the past filled with its God-appointed 
work, He whispered to Himself, " My meat is to do 
the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work." 
And in the article of death, as He saw the last fold of 

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One Thousand and One 



the grand design unrolled, He passed out of the world 
with the cry on His lips, " It is finished." He uttered 
this cry as a soldier might do on a battlefield, who per- 
ceives, with the last effort of consciousness, that the 
struggle in which he has sacrificed his life has been a 
splendid victory. But the triumph and the reward of 
His work never come to an end; for still, as the results 
of what He did unfold themselves age after age, as 
His words sink deeper into the minds of men, as His 
influence changes the face of the world, and as heaven 
fills with those whom He has redeemed, " He shall see 
of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." 

STALKER. 

john Peace be unto you. 

L l 9- The natal song of Christ sung by prophetic angels 
was' 'peace" and "glory," — "glory in the highest, 
and on earth peace." Yet when Jesus began His 
ministry, He said: "I came not to send peace, but a 
sword." Are these statements and others like them 
contradictions? No! sweet paradoxes. By nature, 
man is at peace with the world and at war with God. 
Christ came to reverse this, and by His atonement to 
establish a peace between God and man which in- 
volves war with the world. The Christian then, is 
called to fight his way to eternal peace. But has he 
no peace till the end? Yes, blessed peace; v/ar with- 
out and peace within, — "the peace of God that pass- 
eth all understanding." His turbulent passions are 
stilled; his soul's great anxieties are laid to rest; his 
sin is forgiven; he is cleansed in the blood of the 
Lamb; he has promises of final salvation, "a place" 
in the "house of many mansions," and "a crown of 
glory that fadeth not away." With a consciousness of 

238 



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all these in the Christian's soul, time, death and eter- 
nity cannot mar his repose. Robert p. kerr. 

Believing, ye might have life through his name. john 

When all around was life, God spoke of death ; xx ' 3 l 
now, on the contrary when all around is death, God 
speaks of life: then the word was, "in the day thou 
eatest thou shalt die ; " now the word is, "believe and 

live." C. H. McINTOSH. 

// is the Lord. John 

Did you ever notice how this whole incident might xxl * 7' 
be turned, by a symbolical application, to the hour of 
death, and the vision which may meet us thither ? It 
admits of the application, and perhaps was intended 
to receive the application, of such a symbolic refer- 
ence. The morning is dawning, the grey of night is 
going away, the lake is still; and yonder, standing on 
the shore, in the uncertain light, there is one dim figure, 
and one disciple catches a glimpse of Him, and another 
casts himself into the water, and they find a fire of 
coals and fish laid thereon, and bread, and Christ gath- 
ers them around His table, and they all know that " It 
is the Lord." It is what the death of the Christian 
man, who has gone through life recognizing Christ 
everywhere, may well become: — the morning dawn- 
ing, and the finished work, and the figure standing on 
the quiet beach so that the last plunge into the cold 
flood that yet separates us, will not be taken with 
trembling reluctance; but drawn to Him by the love 
beaming out of His face, and upheld by the power of 
His beckoning presence, we shall struggle through the 
latest wave that parts us and scarcely feel its chill or 
know that we have crossed it; till falling blessed at 

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His feet, we see, by the nearer and clearer visi n of 
His face, that this is indeed heaven. And looking 
back upon ' 'the sea that brought us thither," we shall 
behold its waters flashing in the light of that everlast- 
ing morning, and hear them breaking into music upon 
the eternal shore. And then, when all the weary 
night-watchers on the stormy ocean of life are gath- 
ered together around Him Who watched with them 
from His throne on the bordering mountains of eter- 
nity, where the day shines forever — then He will seat 
them at His table in His Kingdom, and none will need 
to ask : ' ' Who art Thou ? " or " Where am I ? " for all 
shall know that "It is the Lord," and the full, perfect, 
unchangeable vision of His blessed face will be 
heaven! maclaren. 

acts Wait for the promise of the Father. 
L 4- Tarry at a promise till God meets you there. He 
always returns by way of His promises. 

acts Ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost. 

L 5- When a lecturer on electricity wants to show an ex- 
ample of a human body surcharged with his fire, he 
places a person on a stool with glass legs. The glass 
serves to isolate him from the earth, because it will not 
conduct the fire,— the electric fluid: were it not for 
this, however much might be poured into his frame, it 
would be carried away by the earth; but, when thus 
isolated from it, he retains all that enters him. You 
see no fire, you hear no fire; but you are told that it is 
pouring into him. Presently, you are challenged to 
the proof; asked to come near, and hold your hand 
close to his person: when you do so, a spark of fire 

240 



Thoughts from My Library 



shoots out toward you. If thou, then, wouldst have 
thy soul surcharged with the fire of God, so that those 
who come near thee shall feel some mysterious influ- 
ence proceeding out from thee, thou must draw nigh 
to the source of that fire, to the throne of God and of 
the Lamb, and shut thyself out from the world, — that 
cold world which so swiftly steals our fire away. 
Enter into thy closet, and shut to thy door, and there, 
isolated "before the throne/' await the baptism: then 
the fire shall fill thee; and, when thou comest forth, 
holy power will attend thee, and thou shalt labor, not 
in thine own strength, but with demonstration of the 
Spirit, and with power. w. Arthur. 

Ye shall be witnesses unto me. acts 
Christians are the best evidences of Christianity. L 

ARNOT. 

Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, with John. acts 
The apostles "fastened" their eyes on the lame m - 4- 
man. Is not this a characteristic of Christianity that it 
fastens its eyes on the afflicted and the suffering ? 
Science fastens its eyes on inanimate matter! Art 
fastens its eyes on beauty! Art going to the temple 
to pray, which by the way it seldom does in our day, 
would have fixed its gaze on the "gate called Beauti- 
ful." But Christianity fixed its eyes on the cripple. 
Art standing on the brow of Olivet would have fixed 
its gaze on the grandeur of Jerusalem, but Christ fixed 
His on its guilty inhabitants and wept over them. 
Science seeks out the secrets of the world. Art seeks 
out its beauties. Christianity seeks out its sorrows 
and ills, and strives to remove them. 

241 



One Thousand and One 



acts There is none other name under heaven given among 
iv. 12. men, whereby we must be saved. 

Men who neglect Christ, and try to win heaven 
through moralities, are like sailors at sea in a storm, 
who pull, some at the bowsprit, and some at the 
mainmast, but never touch the helm. beecher. 

acts They . . . perceived that they were unlearned 
lv * l 3' and ignorant men. 

What the Lord blesses everywhere is not great 
knowledge, but great devotedness of heart to Himself. 

R. H. SCHOFIELD. 

acts They took knowledge of them, that they had been with 
lv - l 3- Jesus. 

Christ reveals Himself to all His servants in the 
measure of their desire after Him. . . . And what 
we see we shall certainly show. The necessary ac- 
companiment of vision is reflecting the thing beheld. 
If you look closely enough into a man's eye, you will 
see in it little pictures of what he beholds at the mo- 
ment; and if our hearts are beholding Christ, Christ 
will be mirrored and manifested on our hearts. Our 
characters will show what we are looking at, and we 
ought to bear His image so plainly, that men cannot 
but take knowledge of us that we have been with 
Jesus. ... Do beholding and reflecting go to- 
gether in your case ? McLaren. 

If I think of the world, I get the impress of the 
world ; if I think of my trials and sorrows, I get the 
impress of my trials and sorrows; if I think of my 
failures, I get the impress of my failures; if I think of 
Christ, I get the impress of Christ. 

242 



Thoughts from My Library 



They brought forth the sick into the streets . . . acts 
that . . . the shadow of Peter passing by might v - 
overshadow some of them. . . . And they were 1 
healed every one. 

While Peter was exercising his real self in preaching 
the gospel of the risen Christ, his shadow — the direct 
reflection of himself — was also busy healing such sick 
people as it fell upon. Your bodily shadow may be 
very worthless, but your Christian shadow, which is 
your influence, may and should be of the utmost 
worth. It is all the while falling upon some one, and 
he is made better or worse by it. You cannot help 
that. God has made it so, that, with the sun upon 
one side of you and the ground upon the other, there 
will be seen the faithful outline of yourself, according 
to the eternal laws of light ! God has made it so, 
that, with Jesus Christ living within you, and the souls 
of men living around you, upon them will fall the 
spiritual likeness of yourself, and every one will be 
different from what he otherwise would be. 

Stephen, a man full . . . of the Holy Ghost. acts 
Can I see the dew of heaven as it falls on a summer VL 5- 
evening ? I cannot. It comes down softly and gently, 
noiselessly and imperceptibly. But when I go forth in 
the morning after a cloudless night, and see every leaf 
sparkling with moisture, and feel every blade of grass 
damp and wet, I say at once, " There has been a dew." 
Just so it is with the presence of the Spirit in the soul. 

RYLE. 

His face as . . . the face of an angel. acts 
It was once said of a Christian man that "His face VL ^ 
243 



One Thousand and One 



was a thanksgiving for past mercies and a love-letter 
to all mankind." 

acts / see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing 
56. on the right hand of God. 

There is a volume of tender meaning here. Thirteen 
times is Christ spoken of in Scripture as " seated at the 
right hand of God"; only once is He spoken of as 
"standing" and that once is here. Why, then, this 
strange exception ? Why has the seated Saviour 
changed His posture so that He is seen "standing" by 
His dying saint ? Oh, blessed testimony to the death- 
less sympathy and tenderness of that loving Saviour's 
heart! — Seated though He be — it is as if He had heard 
the stir in that court on earth ; — as if He heard (as in- 
deed He did) every malicious taunt that was hurled at 
His holy servant. He cannot remain still. He rises; — 
(or, if we dare use a human expression to give force 
to the heavenly vision) — He starts from His seat at the 
call of His injured disciple — He feels the cruelties in- 
flicted on him as if they were inflicted on Himself. 
He, the same gentle, tender Shepherd that He ever was, 
sees one of the choicest sheep of the fold in the fangs 
of ravening wolves! Roused by these wild beasts 
who were scattering His flock; — touched with the 
tender bleat of that holy and innocent victim of their 
rage, — the good Shepherd stoops down from the hills 
of glory; and, as Stephen enters the valley of the 
shadow of death, He comforts and supports him with 
His rod and staff! macduff. 

acts Go . . . unto the way . . . which is desert. 

Never fear when the Lord bids us go down to the 
way " which is desert." The moment we set our foot 

244 



Thoughts from My Library 



in the wilderness we are the Lord's guests, and He 
ever keeps His table right royally furnished. 

MARK GUY PEARSE. 

The Spirit said . . . Go near, and join thyself acts 
to this chariot. And Philip ran thither. viii.29. 
That is not what some of us do. When God gives 
us a call we begin to creep thither. How many creep- 
ing, limping Christians there are! They have got 
something to do for God's glory, and they crawl in- 
stead of running. "I have a natural indisposition to 
occupy a post of publicity or to excite anything like 
general observation." My friend, what has thy natural 
character to do with it ? Is it by your natural, or by 
your supernatural character, that you are going to 
glorify God ? . . . Whenever God intimates His 
will, run, and you will find the cross will grow very 
light to willing feet. It is heavy to the man who 
crawls, but light to the man who runs. aitken. 

Philip . . . preached unto him Jesus. acts 

A sermon devoted to metaphysics is a stack of dry viii.35. 
cornstalks after the corn has been ripped out with the 
husking-peg. A sermon given up to sentimental and 
flowery speech is as a nosegay flung to a drowning 
sailor. A sermon devoted to moral essay is a basket 
of chips to help on the great burning. What the 
world wants now is to be told in the most flatfooted 
way of Jesus Christ, who comes to save men from 
eternal damnation. Christ the Light, Christ the Sacri- 
fice, Christ the Rock, Christ the Star, Christ the Balm, 
Christ the Guide. talmage. 

Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? acts 
Bring your plans, your purposes to God's throne. * x * 6* 

245 



One Thousand and One 



Test them by praying about them. Do nothing large or 
new — nothing small or old either, for that matter — till 
you have asked there, in the silence of the secret place, 
" Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do ? " McLaren. 

acts Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee 

ix. 6. what thou must do. 

Duty's path always opens for us as we go on — not 
before we start, but as we obey and move forward. 
Yet we must not expect there will never be any diffi- 
culties to meet or obstacles to surmount. God never 
has promised that. Too easy a path is often a bane in 
life, not a blessing. The difficulties and obstacles 
that remain may be made stepping-stones by which 
we shall rise to higher things. j. r. miller. 

acts All the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the 
ix. 39. coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she 
was with them. 

There are no trifles in the moral universe of God. 
God has placed you in a position in which you can be 
honest and excel. Do your duty in the present and 
God will take care of the future. . . . Don't live 
in the cloudland of some transcendental heaven; do 
your best to bring the glory of a real heaven down and 
ray it out upon your fellows in this work-day world. 

PUNSHON. 

acts Cornelius said . . . I prayed in my house ; and 
x. behold a man stood before me . . . and said, 
3°> 3 1 • Cornelius, thy prayer is heard. 

If you would have your prayers accepted, they must 
be arrows shot from the heart; none else reach the 
throne of God. guthrie. 

246 



Thoughts from My Library 



God is no respecter of persons. acts 
With God there is no free man but His servant, X- ^4- 
though in the galleys; no slave but the sinner, though 
in a palace; none noble but the virtuous, if never so 
basely descended ; none rich but he that possesseth God, 
even in rags; none wise but he that is a fool to him- 
self and the world; none happy but he whom the 
world pities. Let me be free, noble, rich, wise, happy, 

to God. BISHOP HALL. 



Jesus . . . went about doing good. acts 



The finest of all the fine arts is the art of doing good, 
and yet it is the least cultivated. talmage. 

In the holy land lived a man called Eliab, whom 
God had blessed with earthly goods. He was also 
cunning in all the wisdom of the East. But all this 
could not bring peace to his heart; he was often full of 
sorrow and wished to die. Then a man of God came 
to him, and showed him an herb possessed of wonder- 
ful powers of healing; but Eliab said: "What is that 
to me ? My body lacks not health ; my soul is diseased. 
It were better for me to die." " The herb will do thy 
heart good," said the man of God. "Take it, and 
heal seven sick men and then thou mayest die if thou 
wilt." Eliab did as he was desired, and sought out 
misery in its abiding-places. He healed seven sick 
people and succored the poor with his riches. Then 
the man of God came again to him and said, "Here 
is an herb of death; now thou mayest die." But Eliab 
cried: "God forbid! My soul longeth no more for 
death, for now I comprehend the meaning and use of 

life.'' KRUMMACHER. 

247 



x. 38. 



One Thousand and One 



acts Known unto God are all his works from the beginning 

xv. 1 8. of the world. 

And if His works were foreknown how much more 
His saints! . . . The source of a stream must be 
sought, not where it arises in some green glen among 
the hills, making a tiny tarn of clear water, where the 
mountain sheep come down to drink; but in the 
mighty sea, drawn upward in evaporation, or in the 
clouds that condense against the cold slopes of the 
hills. So with the life of God within us. In its earlier 
stages we are apt to suppose that it originated in our 
will and choice and return to our Father's House. But 
as we review it from the eminence of the years, we 
discover that we chose because we were chosen; that 
we love because we were first loved; that we left the 
sepulchre of our selfishness and the cerements of 
death, because the Son of God flung His majestic word 
into the sepulchral vault, crying, "Come forth!" All 
mature piety extols the grace of God — that unmerited 
love, which each man thinks was magnified most 
abundantly in his own case. " By the grace of God 1 
am what I am," is a confession which is elicited from 
every man as he reaches the crest of the hill, and looks 
back on the cities of the plain from which he has 
escaped. f. b. meyer. 

acts And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang 

xvi. 25. praises unto God. 

While your salvation depends on Jesus and His 
finished work, and on that alone, your enjoyment of 
that salvation depends very much on yourself — on your 
holy walk with God, on your living a life within the 
veil — living daily by faith on Him Who loved you and 

248 



Thoughts from My Library 



gave Himself for you. Without this you may be a 
Christian, but you will never be a peaceful, praising, 
happy Christian. f. whitfield. 

But the Jews which believed not . . . set all the acts 
city on an uproar. XV1L 5 

It is a sign we gallop in our way when the dogs fol- 
low barking. Slack not your pace, though they do so. 

PHILIP HENRY. 

These . . . have turned the world upside down. acts 
None of these things move me. — Acts xx. 24. XV * L 6 

The men that move the world are the ones who do 
not let the world move them. 

By the space of three years I ceased not to warn every acts 
one night and day with tears. xx. 31 

Why is it that this fount of tears seems denied us ? 
We have tears for all things else than the infinite loss 
of those who have rejected the Gospel. For this, alas! 
no single drop trickles along the dry water courses. 
We are smitten by a terrible drought, our heart a very 
Sahara: our water springs frozen by remorseless cold 
or scorched by relentless heat. In losing the power of 
tears we have lost one great power of causing them. 
It is by broken hearts that hearts are broken; by wet 
eyes that eyes are made to brim over with the waters 
of repentant sorrow. f. b. meyer. 

The Lord stood by him. acts 
The man who stands by Christ will find Christ XX11L 
standing by him. talmage. n " 

Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience acts 
void of offence toward God. xxiv. 
An ill conscience is no comfortable companion to 
249 



One Thousand and One 



carry with thee. An ill conscience is like a thorn in 
the flesh. A thorn in the hedge may scratch you as 
you pass by it; but a thorn in the flesh rankles with 
you wherever you go: and the conscience, the ill 
conscience, the conscience that is ill at ease, it makes 
you ill at ease. You cannot have peace so long as you 
have an evil conscience, so long as there is that con- 
tinual monition flashing across your mind: "Judgment 
cometh, death cometh: am I ready?" Many a time 
when you go to your worldly scenes of pleasure, this 
conscience, like the finger-writing on the wall of the 
palace of the King of Babylon, alarms and frightens 
you. You tell nobody about it. Strange thoughts 
strike across your mind. You have no rest. Can a 
man rest on a pillow of thorns ? Can a man rest with 
the heartache ? Can a man rest with his soul disturbed 
with the horrors of guilt ? I tell thee there is no rest 
to thee till thou comest to Christ. He alone can calm 
a conscience. coley. 

acts Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me 
xxvi. to be a Christian. And Paul said, I would to 
^' 2 9- God that not only thou, but also all that hear me 
. . . were both almost, and altogether such as I 
am, except these bonds. 

Paul saw two boats ; one was called Altogether and 
the other Almost. He saw the Altogether go into 
port, flags flying, and he saw the Almost founder at 
sea. Not quite a Christian is to be no Christian at all. 

TALMAGE. 

Some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. 

God often lets His people reach the shore as on the 
planks of a shipwrecked vessel. He deprives us of 

250 



ACTS 

xxvii. 

44. 



Thoughts from My Library 



the cisterns in order to make us drink out of the foun- 
tains of waters. He frequently takes away our sup- 
ports, not that we may fall to the ground, but that He 
may Himself become our rod and our staff. The em- 
barrassments of His people are only the festive scaf- 
foldings on which His might, His faithfulness, and His 
mercy celebrate their triumphs. krummacher. 

/ am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the ROM. 
power of God unto salvation to every one that be- L 
lieveth. 

Take the Gospel for a sling, and faith and repent- 
ance for the smooth stones from the brook; take sure 
aim, God will direct the weapon, and great Goliaths 
will tumble before you. talmage. 

God . . . will render to every man according to rom. 

his deeds. ii. 5> 6. 

The most common actions of life, its every day and 
hour, are invested with the highest grandeur, when we 
think how they extend their issues into eternity. 

GUTHRIE. 

Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. rom. 

Avaunt, Satan! While I am at peace with God, I v * lm 
am a match for all thy temptations. Thou offerest me 
silver; I have gold. Thou bringest before me the 
riches of the earth; I have something more substantial 
than these. Avaunt, tempter of human kind! Avaunt, 
thou fiend! Your temptations and blandishments are 
lost on one who has peace with God. spurgeon. 

Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experi- rom. 
ence ; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not v - 3> 
25 < 4 ' 5 ' 



One Thousand and One 



ashamed ; because the love of God is shed abroad in 
our hearts. 

God is daily searching us, sifting us, trying us to 
bring out the evil that is in us, that we may know our- 
selves, and that He may have fresh opportunities of 
bringing out all His supplies and resources. He brings 
us, as He did Israel, into danger, poverty, sorrow, and 
care that He may get opportunities of displaying all 
His love and fullness. Let us not grudge Him these; 
they will soon be at an end. It is only here, on this 
sad, poor earth, that He can have such opportunities. 
When we reach the Kingdom, our sin and emptiness, 
and weakness, and grief will be done. It is only now 
and here that God can thus display Himself in His 
grace, and long-suffering and plenteousness. 

HORATIUS BONAR. 

rom. Hope makelh not ashamed, because the love of God is 

v - 5- shed abroad in our hearts. 

Alps on Alps arise, as the believer presses forward 
in his course. He beholds a summit and exclaims, 
" My God will meet me there, and there will gainsay- 
ers be confounded." But when he reaches it, he re- 
ceives not the expected testimony, and unbelievers 
make a mock of his disappointed hopes. He would 
be troubled; but in the absence of the external testi- 
mony, he receives an inward sweet assurance of the 
love and faithfulness of God, and in the very hour of 
his disappointment, his face shines with a singular joy. 
Looking up he sees a higher mount. "Oh," he ex- 
claims, "it is there, not here, that God should meet 
me. I must reach the higher summit." He reaches 
it, and it proves to be a new summit of sorrow for 

252 



Thoughts from My Library 



him. Again, a wave of heavenly bliss rolls over his 
heart, and he refuses to be confounded. A still higher 
peak catches his aspiring eye. All his disappoint- 
ments, however, are real conquests. Those inferior 
summits mark the way that he must necessarily tread 
in his course to the hill of transfiguration. In his great 
hope he is not confounded, only in his lesser hopes 
that lay hold of time, place, and circumstance. From 
every hill of disappointment, he carries off a rich spoil. 

BOWEN. 

How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer rom. 

therein ? vi. 2. 

Thy sins after pardon have a blacker circumstance 
than the sins of devils, or the sins of wicked men, for 
theirs are not against pardoning mercy nor against 
special love. Oh ! thaw thy heart every morning with 
meditation on pardon, and sin will not so easily freeze 
it in the daytime. When thou art tempted to sin, 
consider what thoughts thou hadst when thou wast 
suing for pardon, how earnest thou wert for it, what 
promises and vows thou didst make; and consider the 
love God showed thee in pardoning. Do not blur thy 
pardon, or easily wound thy conscience, or weaken 
thy faith. charnock. 

Sin shall not have dominion over you. rom. 

I stood some years ago near the fair city of Geneva, y i- l 4- 
where two great rivers meet, but do not mingle. Here 
the Rhone, the arrowy Rhone, rapid and beautiful, 
pours out its waters of that heavenly blue which it is 
worth almost a pilgrimage to see, and there the Arve, 
frantic and muddy, partly from the glaciers from 
which it is so largely fed, and partly from the clayey 

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soil that it upheaves in its impetuous path, meet and 
run side by side for miles, with no barriers, save their 
own innate repulsions, each encroaching now and then 
into the province of the other, but beaten back again 
instantly into its own domain. Like mighty rival 
forces of good and evil do they seem, and for long — 
just as in the world around us — for long the issue is 
doubtful; but if you look far down the stream, you 
find the frantic Arve is mastered, and the Rhone has 
colored the whole surface of the stream with its own 
emblematic and beautiful blue. punshon. 

rom. The wages of sin is death. 
2 3- A certain tyrant sent for one of his subjects, and said 
to him, "What is your employment?" He said, "I 
am a blacksmith." — " Go home, and make me a chain 
of such a length." He went home: it occupied him 
several months; and he had no wages all the time he 
was making it. Then he brought it to the monarch; 
and he said, "Go and make it twice as long." He 
brought it up again; and the monarch said, "Go and 
make it longer still." Each time he brought it, there 
was nothing but the command to make it longer still; 
and, when he brought it up at last, the monarch said, 
"Take it, and bind him hand and foot with it, and 
cast him into a furnace of fire." These were the 
wages of making the chain. Here is a meditation for 
you to-night, ye servants of the devil. Your master, 
the devil, is telling you to make a chain. Some have 
been fifty years welding the links of the chain; and he 
says, "Go and make it still longer." Next sabbath 
morning, you will open that shop of yours, and put 
another link on; next sabbath, you will be drunk, and 

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put on another link; next Monday, you will do a dis- 
honest action: and so you will keep on making fresh 
links to this chain; and, when you have lived twenty 
more years, the devil will say, "More links on still! " 
And then, at last, it will be, " Take him, and bind him 
hand and foot, and cast him into a furnace of fire." 
" For the wages of sin is death." spurgeon. 

They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the ROM. 
flesh; but they that are after the Spirit, the things V11L 5 
of the Spirit. 

Pampering the flesh is hampering the Spirit. 

He . . . searcheth the hearts. rom. 

It is not the gilded paper and good writing of a V11L2 7 
petition that prevails with a king, but the moving 
sense of it: and to the King that discerns the heart, 
heart-sense is the sense of all, and that which He alone 
regards; He listens to hear what that speaks, and takes 
all as nothing where that is silent. All other excel- 
lence in prayer is but the outside and fashion of it; 
that is the life of it. leighton. 

All things work together for good to them that love God. rom. 

In the cathedral at Pisa is a wonderful dome. Spa- 
cious, symmetrical; composed of the choicest marble, 
it is a delight to stand beneath, and gaze upon its 
beauties. Thus I stood, one sunny April day, when 
suddenly the air became instinct with melody. The 
great dome seemed full of harmony. The waves of 
music vibrated to and fro, loudly beating against the 
walls, swelling into full chords like the roll of a grand 
organ, and then dying away into soft, long-drawn, 
far-receding echoes, melting in the distance into silence. 

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One Thousand and One 



It was only my guide, who, lingering behind me a mo- 
ment, had softly murmured a triple chord. But be- 
neath that magic roof every sound resolved into a 
symphony. No discord can reach the summit of that 
dome and live. Every noise made in the building, 
the slamming of seats, the tramping of feet, all the 
murmur and bustle of the crowd, are caught up, soft- 
ened, harmonized, blended and echoed back in music. 
So it seems to me that over our life hangs the great 
dome of God's providence. Standing, as we do, be- 
neath it, no act in the divine administration toward us, 
no affliction, no grief, no loss which our heavenly 
Father sends, however hard to bear it may be, but 
will come back at last, softened and blended into har- 
mony, within the over-arching dome of His wisdom, 
mercy and power, till to our corrected sense it shall be 
the sweetest music of heaven. j. dorman Steele. 

If our circumstances find us in God we shall find 
God in all our circumstances. 

In one thousand trials it is not five hundred of them 
that work for the believer's good, but nine hundred 
and ninety-nine of them, and one besides. 

GEORGE MULLER. 

rom. In all these things we are more than conquerors through 
viii.37. him that loved us. 

Never let us judge of God's love to us or purpose 
about us by the outward features of our life; only by 
His personal dealing with our spirits. Do not fear cir- 
cumstances. They cannot hurt us, if we hold fast by 
God, and use them as the voices and ministries of His 
will. Our goodness and our greatness do not consist 
in what we have but in what we are. bowen. 

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More than conquerors. ROM. 

It is one thing to withstand — it is quite another vlll -37- 
thing to stand. In the one, we are conquerors, in the 
other, " more than conquerors through Him that loved 
us." 

They have a %eal of God, but not according to knowl- rom. 
edge. x - 2 - 

As all zeal without discretion is as an offering with- 
out eyes, which was by God forbidden, so, likewise, 
all blind zeal is a blind offering, which God will never 
accept. CAWDRAY. 

The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon rom. 

him. x. 12. 

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, 
but for the wide world's joy. The lowly pine on the 
mountain-top waves its sombre boughs, and cries, 
" Thou art my sun "; and the little meadow-violet lifts 
its cup of blue, and whispers with its perfumed breath, 
" Thou art my sun " ; and the grain in a thousand fields 
rustles in the wind, and makes answer, "Thou art my 
sun." So God sits effulgent in heaven, not for a 
favored few, but for the universe of life; and there is 
no creature so poor or so low, that he may not look up 
with childlike confidence, and say, "My Father, Thou 
art mine." beecher. 

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of rom. 
God. x. 17. 

I prayed for faith and thought that some day faith 
would come down and strike me like lightning. But 
faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the 
tenth chapter of Romans, "Now faith comes by hear- 

257 



One Thousand and One 



ing, and hearing by the Word of God." I had closed 
my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my 
Bible and began to study, and faith has been growing 
ever since. Now the Bible is the only guidebook that 
points the way to heaven. moody. 

rom. Present your bodies a living sacrifice. 
xn. i. Thanksgiving is a good thing: thanks-living is bet- 
ter. 

Self-control reaches its highest discipline in the abso- 
lute giving away of the whole life to the care and serv- 
ice Of God. JOSEPH PARKER. 

If God had required thee to sacrifice thy son to Him 
as He required of Abraham, wouldst thou not give 
him ? but now He requireth nothing of thee but thy 
sins; it is as if He should sue unto thee for thy shame, 
and thy trouble, and thy guilt, and thy fear, that He 
might have all which hurts thee. What wilt thou part 
from if thou wilt not part from thine hurt ? Therefore 
sacrifice thy body, and thou hast sacrificed all that 
hurts thee. henry smith. 

rom. Continuing instant in prayer. 
xn. 12. Make prayer a holy habit — a cherished privilege. 
Seek to be ever maintaining inter-communion with 
Jesus; consecrating life's common duties with His 
favor and love. Day by day ere you take your flight 
into the world, night by night when you return from 
its soiling contacts, bathe your drooping plumes in this 
refreshing fountain. Let prayer sweeten prosperity 
and hallow adversity. macduff. 

rom. Weep with them that weep. 
xii. 15. Post-mortem sympathy is useless, hugh brown. 

258 



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Step very gently around a broken heart. Do you 
expect, with a thin court-plaister of words, to heal a 
wound deep as the soul ? Talk very softly around 
those whom God has bereft. Then go your way. 
Deep sympathy has not much to say. talmage. 

Do that which is good. rom. 

Keep as few good intentions hovering about as pos- X11L 3- 
sible. They are like ghosts haunting a dwelling. The 
way to lay them is to find bodies for them. When 
they are embodied in substantial deeds they are no 
longer dangerous. arnot. 

None of us liveth to himself. rom. 

An ancient sage illustrated the consequences of sin xlv * 7- 
in this parable: A vessel sailing from Joppa, carried a 
passenger who, beneath his berth, cut a hole through 
the ship's side. When the men of the watch expostu- 
lated with him, the offender calmly replied, "What 
matters it to you ? The hole I have made lies under 
my own berth." No man perishes alone in his 
iniquity; no man can guess the full consequences of 
his transgression. spurgeon. 

The character which you are constructing is not 
your own. It is the building material out of which 
other generations will quarry stones for the temple of 
life. See to it therefore that it be granite and not 

Shale. A. J. GORDON. 

Peace and joy. RO m. 

Peace is the flowing of the brook, but joy is the x ™- 
dashing of the cataract when the brook is filled, bursts l 7' 
its banks, and rushes down the rocks. spurgeon. 

259 



One Thousand and One 



rom. / commend unto you Phoebe. . . . She hath been 
xy i- a succorer of many, and of myself also. 
l ' 2 ' A sundial in Spain has this appropriate motto en- 
graved upon it: " / mark only the bright hours." Let 
this be our motto. In life let us forget the dark days, 
and remember only the bright ones. Let us forget the 
evils others have done us, and remember only deeds of 
kindness. 

i cor. Come behind in no gift. 
L 7- The Scripture gives four names to Christians, taken 
from the four cardinal graces so essential to man's 
salvation: Saints for their holiness, believers for their 
faith, brethren for their love, disciples for their knowl- 
edge. FULLER. 

i cor. The cross is to them that perish, foolishness ; but unto 
i. 1 8. us which are saved, it is the power of God. 

Damascen likened the cross of Christ to a key of 
gold which if accepted opens paradise for us; but, if 
unaccepted, it becomes an iron key, and opens the 
gates of hell before us. 

i cor. Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and 
i- 2 3, unto the Greeks foolishness ; but unto them which 
2 4- are called . . . Christ the power of God, and 
the wisdom of God. 

There are two ways of treating the seed. The 
botanist splits it up, and discourses on its curious char- 
acteristics: the simple husbandman eats and sows; 
sows and eats. Similarly there are two ways of treat- 
ing the gospel. A critic dissects it, raises a mountain 
of debate about the structure of the whole, and rela- 
tion of its parts; and when he is done with his argu- 



Thoughts from My Library 



ment, he is done; to him the letter is dead; he neither 
lives on it himself, nor spreads it for the good of his 
neighbors; he neither eats nor sows. The disciple of 
Jesus, hungering for righteousness, takes the seed 
whole; it is bread for to-day's hunger, and seed for to- 
morrow's supply. ARNOT. 

God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to \ cor. 
confound the wise ; and God hath chosen the weak i. 27. 
things of the world to confound the things which 
are mighty. 

In some of the great halls of Europe may be seen 
pictures not painted with the brush, but mosaics, 
which are made up of small pieces of stone, glass, or 
other material. The artist takes these little pieces; 
and, polishing and arranging them, he forms them 
into the grand and beautiful picture. Each individual 
part of the picture may be a little worthless piece of 
glass or marble or shell; but, with each in its place, 
the whole constitutes the masterpiece of art. So I 
think it will be with humanity in the hands of the 
Great Artist. God is picking up the little worthless 
pieces of stone and brass, that might be trodden under 
foot unnoticed, and is making of them His great mas- 
terpiece. BISHOP SIMPSON. 

Most of us are too strong for God to use; we are 
too full of our own schemes and plans and ways of 
doing things. He must empty us and humble us, and 
bring us down to the dust of death, so low that we 
need every straw of encouragement, every leaf of 
help; and then He will raise us up and make us as the 
rod of His strength. The world talks of the survival 
of the fittest; but God gives power to the faint, and 

261 



One Thousand and One 



increases might to them that have no strength; He 
perfects His strength in weakness, and uses things 
that are not to bring to nought things that are. If 
Ehud had been right handed, he might never frave 
judged Israel; if Gideon had been the greatest instead 
of the least in his father's house, he would never have 
vanquished Midian; if Paul had been as eloquent in 
his speech as he confesses himself to have been con- 
temptible, he would never have preached the gospel 
from Jerusalem round to Illyricum. f. b. meyer. 

i cor. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
n - 9- into the heart of man, the things which God hath 
prepared for them that love him. 
When you survey the spacious firmament, and be- 
hold it hung with such resplendent bodies, think — if 
the suburbs be so beautiful, what must the city be! 
What is the footstool He makes to the throne whereon 
He sits! secker. 

Great as is the goodness which He has wrought be- 
fore the sons of men for them that trust in Him, there 
are far greater treasures of goodness laid up in the 
deep mines of God for them that fear Him. Bars of 
uncoined treasure and ingots of massy gold lie in His 
storehouses, to be put into circulation as soon as we 
need, and can use, them. McLaren. 

i cor. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit 
ii. 14. of God . . . neither can he know them, because 
they are spiritually discerned. 
"I remember once being present," says Captain 
Basil Hall, "at the Geological Society, when a bottle 
was produced which was said to contain certain Z06- 

262 



Thoughts from My Library 



phytes (delicate water-animals, having the form of 
plants). It was handed round in the first instance 
among the initiated on the foremost benches, who com- 
mented freely with one another on the forms of the 
animals in the fluid; but when it came to our hands, 
we could discover nothing in the bottle but the most 
limpid fluid, without any trace, so far as our eyes 
could make out, of animals dead or alive, the whole 
appearing absolutely transparent. The surprise of the 
ignorant, at seeing nothing, was only equal to that of 
the learned, who saw so much to admire. Nor was it 
till we were specifically instructed what it was we 
were to look for, and the shape, size, and general as- 
pect of the Zoophytes pointed out, that our under- 
standing began to cooperate with our sight in peopling 
the fluid which, up to that moment, had seemed per- 
fectly uninhabited. The wonder then was, how we 
could possibly have omitted seeing objects now so 
palpable." How many are the things which appear to 
the illuminated Christians to be palpably revealed, 
which the unconverted cannot discover to have any 
place in the Scriptures of truth; and how much sur- 
prised does he feel that he could ever have overlooked 
them! f. f. trench. 

Let every man take heed how he build eth. i cor. 

Our business is not to build quickly, but to build ni » I0 - 
upon a right foundation, and in a right spirit. Life is 
more than a mere competition as between man and 
man; it is not who can be done first, but who can 
work best; it is not who can rise highest in the short- 
est time, but who is working most patiently and lov- 
ingly in accordance with the designs of God. 

JOSEPH PARKER. 

263 



One Thousand and One 



J. cor. The day shall declare it. 

ill. 13. you and I write our lives as if on one of those mani- 
fold writers which you use. A thin filmy sheet here, 
a bit of black paper below it, but the writing goes 
through upon the next page, and when the blackness 
that divides two worlds is swept away there, the his- 
tory of each life written by ourselves remains legible 
in eternity. And the question is : What sort of auto- 
biography are we writing for the revelation of that 
day, and how far do our circumstances help us to 
transcribe fair in our lives the will of our God and the 
image of our Redeemer ? McLaren. 

1 cor. It shall be revealed by fire. 

111. 13. a s t ] le worc j s that are written with the juice of a 
lemon cannot be read when they are written, but may 
be plainly and distinctly seen if you hold the paper to 
the fire, so the least letters in the book of our con- 
science, yea, the least notes and points and scratches, 
which neither any other nor ourselves see well now, 
shall easily be discerned by the fire of the last judg- 
ment. FEATLEY. 

1 cor. All things are yours . . . and ye are Christ's; 

hi- and Christ is God's. 
21 2 3 

' ?m I once heard a father tell that when he removed his 
family to a new residence, where the accommodation 
was much more ample, and the substance much more 
rich and varied than that to which they had previously 
been accustomed, his youngest son, yet a lisping in- 
fant, ran around every room, and scanned every article 
with ecstasy, calling out in childish wonder at every 
new sight, "Is this ours, father, and is this ours?" 
The child did not say " yours," and I observed that the 

264 



Thoughts from My Library 



father, while he told the story, was not offended with 
the freedom. You could read in his glistening eye that 
the infant's confidence in appropriating as his own all 
that his father had was an important element in his 
satisfaction. Such, I suppose, will be the surprise and 
joy, and appropriating confidence, with which the 
child of our Father's family will count all his own 
when he is removed from the comparatively mean con- 
dition of things present, and enters the infinite of 
things to come. When the glories of heaven burst 
upon his view, he does not stand at a distance, like a 
stranger, saying, "O God, these are Thine." He 
bounds forward to touch and taste every provision 
which these blessed mansions contain, exclaiming, as 
he looks in the Father's face, " Father, this and this is 
ours!" The dear child is glad of all the Father's 
riches, and the Father is gladder of His dear child. 

ARNOT. 

The way to possess unlimited treasure is to give 
yourself to Christ. bowen. 

Judge nothing before the time. i cor. 

Judge not Christianity even by its most perfect em- lv * 5- 
bodiment in the life of its disciples here. The best are 
imperfect; and Christianity itself teaches this, and 
points to perfection as yonder. Do not judge the 
science of that organ-builder by that half-finished in- 
strument in his workshop. There is but little in that 
to please the eye; and from it scarce a note can be 
evolved to charm the ear. Judge not the artistic char- 
acter of that painter by the first rough outline which 
you discover on the canvas in his studio. There is 
scarcely a touch of life in it, or any perceptible resem- 

265 



One Thousand and One 



blance to the original. Judge the organ-builder by the 
instrument as it stands in the great cathedral, pouring 
forth by the touch of a master-musician pealing strains 
of music, electrifying the congregated thousands. 
Judge the artist by the picture as hung up in the 
Academy of Art; looking, throbbing, and blushing at 
you as a thing of life; gathering around it a crowd of 
admiring spectators. Even so judge Christianity. Its 
organ — the Christian life — is not half finished here in 
its workshop. Yonder, in the great cathedral of eter- 
nity, you will see it in perfection, and feel the inspira- 
tions of its harmonies. The painting is not finished 
here in its studio: its figure is half formed and 
blotched; and scarcely a feature is accurate. See it in 
the great gallery of the heavens, finished, and an exact 
copy of the Son of God Himself, "Who is the image 
of the Father's glory." thomas. 

i cor. He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. 

vl - l l- The contact of our spirits with His Spirit is a con- 
tact far more real than the touch of earthly hands that 
grasp each other closest. There is ever some film of 
atmosphere between the palms. But "he that is 
joined to the Lord is one spirit" and he that clasps 
Christ's outstretched hand of help with his outstretched 
hand of weakness, holds Him with a closeness to 
which all unions of earth are gaping gulfs of separa- 
tion. McLaren. 

i cor. Ye are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God in 
vi. 20. your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 

Into the slave-market of this world God hath gone 
in the person of His Son, and paid the tremendous price 
which authorizes Him to take as many as He can find 

266 



Thoughts from My Library 



willing to go, and create them anew in the image of 
the Son. . . . It is not a fragment of you that has 
been purchased; but the whole. You would hardly 
presume to say that the price was inadequate. Yet do 
you not seem to say so ? How much of your time is 
the Lord's? Do you dress, feed, employ your body 
as unto the Lord ? Is your tongue, your hand conse- 
crated all to Him ? Your memory, imagination, hope ? 
Your love and faith ? Your houses and lands ? Your 
influence ? bowen. 

Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he \ cor. 

was called. vii. 20. 

Whatever our place allotted to us by Providence, 
that for us is the post of duty and honor. God esti- 
mates us, not by the position we are in, but by the way 
in which we fill it. t. edwards. 

The time is short. 1 cor. 

We all complain of the shortness of time; and yet V1L 2 9- 
we have more than we know what to do with. Our 
lives are spent either in doing nothing at all, or in 
doing nothing to the purpose, or in doing nothing that 
we ought to do. We are always complaining that our 
days are few, and acting as though there would be 
no end of them. seneca. 

The fashion of this world passeth away. 1 cor. 

The spirit of the world is forever altering, impalpa- V1L 3 l - 
ble; forever eluding, in fresh forms, your attempts to 
seize it. In the days of Noah, the spirit of the world 
was violence. In Elijah's day, it was idolatry. In the 
day of Christ, it was power, concentrated and con- 
densed in the government of Rome. In ours, perhaps, 

267 



One Thousand and One 



it is the love of money. It enters in different propor- 
tions into different bosoms; it is found in a different 
form in contiguous towns, in the fashionable water- 
ing-places, and in the commercial city ; it is this thing 
at Athens, and another in Corinth. This is the spirit 
of the world, a thing in my heart and yours to be 
struggled against, not so much in the case of others as 
in the silent battle done within our own souls. 

F. W. ROBERTSON. 

i cor. / would have you without carefulness. 
vn. 32. rjo not look forward to the changes and chances of 
this life in fear, rather look to them with full hope 
that, as they arise, God, Whose you are, will deliver 
you out of them. He has kept you hitherto, — do you 
but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you 
safely through all things; and when you cannot stand, 
He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward 
to what may happen to-morrow; the same everlasting 
Father Who cares for you to-day will take care of you 
to-morrow, and every day. Either He will shield you 
from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength 
to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious 
thoughts and imaginations. francis de sales. 

1 cor. The things that belong to the Lord. 
vn. 32. -phe things that belong to men must be understood 
in order to be loved; the things that belong to God 
must be loved in order to be understood. pascal. 

1 cor. So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that 
ix. striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. 
2 4> 2 > if it is a small sacrifice, give it up for others, if a 
great one, for yourself. 

268 



Thoughts from My Library 



Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are i cor. 
able. x - l 3- 

Faith is the better of free air, and of the sharp win- 
ter storm in its face. Grace withereth without ad- 
versity. The devil is but God's master-fencer, to 
teach us to handle our weapons. Rutherford. 

Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. \ cor. 

Let us not be Christians as to the few great things x - 2 1, 
of our lives, and atheists as to the many small things 
which fill up a far greater space of them. God is in 
both, waiting for the glory we can give Him in them. 

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 

When in the Mexican War, the troops were waver- 
ing, a general rose in his stirrups, and dashed into the 
enemy's lines, shouting, "Men, follow!" They, see- 
ing his courage and disposition, dashed on after him, 
and gained the victory. What men want to rally them 
for God is an example to lead them. All your com- 
mands to others to advance amount to nothing so 
long as you stay behind. To affect them aright, you 
need to start for heaven yourself, looking back only to 
give the stirring cry of "Men, follow! " talmage. 

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and \ cor. 
all the members of that one body, being many, are xii. 12. 
one body : so also is Christ. 

The Church of Christ is the whole body of those 
who have heard His voice of love and yielded to it. 

MARK GUY PEARSE. 

Now we see through a glass darkly ; but then face to 
face. 

The infinite beauty and glory of our ideal must ever 
269 



1 COR. 

xi. 1. 



1 COR. 

xiii. 12. 



One Thousand and One 



distance our noblest efforts, as the inaccessible heights 
of the Jungfrau, clad in untrodden snows, rise higher 
and ever higher above the traveller as he approaches 
them along the valley at their foot. f. b. meyer. 

i cor. Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three ; but the 
xin. 13 greatest of these is love. 
(R* v -)- j 0 y j s j ove exu iting. 

Peace is love in repose. 

Long-suffering is love untiring. 

Gentleness is love in society. 

Goodness is love in action. 

Faith is love on the battlefield. 

Meekness is love at school. 

Temperance is love in training. 

Love is the greatest thing that God can give us ; for 
Himself is Love ; and it is the greatest thing we can 
give to God, for it will give ourselves, and carry with 
it all that is ours. jeremy taylor. 

1 cor. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the 
xv. 20. first-fruits of them that slept. 

Death is a dragon, the grave its den; a place of 
dread and terror; but Christ goes into its den, there 
grapples with it, and forever overcomes it, disarms it 
of all its terror; and not only makes it cease to be 
inimical, but to become the greatest blessing to the 
saints; a bed of rest, and a perfumed bed; they do but 
go into Christ's bed, where He lay before them. 

FLAVEL. 

As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. 

We lost our inheritance by the fall of Adam: we re- 
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1 COR. 
XV. 22. 



Thoughts from My Library 



ceive it by the death of Christ, which restores it again 



In some respects prayer resembles death. When * 
man dies his soul returns to God, and when he prays 
he does the same thing; and it is this habitual return 
of the soul to its maker in acts of devotion that makes 
the final return in death so easy. The Christian thus 
dies on a small scale every day; and this enables him 
to die aright when the appointed time comes. 

God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him. i cor. 

You cannot tell what is in that body of yours; but xv - 3& 
wait until all the sin has been removed from it; wait 
until its weaknesses and limitations disappear; wait 
until it is changed and made like unto His glorious 
body, and then it will be seen as it was intended in 
the beginning, not a clog nor a hindrance, but a per- 
fect vehicle and medium through which the soul would 
have perfect manifestation. j. wesley Johnston. 

// is sown in dishonor ; it is raised in glory. i cor. 

I have stood in a smith's forge and seen him put a xv - 43* 
rusty, cold, dull piece of iron into the fire, and, after a 
while, he hath taken the very same identical individual 
piece of iron out of the fire, but bright, sparkling. 
And thus it is with our bodies: they are laid down in 
the grave, dead, heavy, earthly; but at that general 
conflagration, this dead, heavy, earthly body shall arise 
living, lightsome, glorious. fuller. 

The first man Adam . . . the last Adam. i cor. 

Jesus kept close to Scripture, and thus conquered: xv ° 45- 
without any other weapon, save the sword of the Spirit, 



to us by a new and better title. 
/ die daily. 



FLAVEL. 



I COR. 

xv. 31. 



27 



One Thousand and One 



He stood in the conflict, and gained a glorious triumph. 
What a contrast to the first Adam ! The one had every 
thing to plead against him. The garden, with all its 
delights, in the one case; the wilderness, with all its 
privations, in the other: confidence in Satan, in the one 
case, confidence in God in the other: complete defeat 
in the one case; complete victory in the other. 
Blessed forever be the God of all grace, Who has laid 
our help on One so mighty to conquer, mighty to 
save! c. h. Mcintosh. 

i cor. O ! death, where is thy sting ? O ! grave, where is 
xv. 55. thy victory ? 

The grave — what is it ? It is the bath in which the 
Christian puts the clothes of his body to have them 
washed and cleansed. Death — what is it ? It is the 
waiting-room where we robe ourselves for immortality ; 
it is the place where the body, like Esther, bathes it- 
self in spices that it may be fit for the embrace of its 
Lord. SPURGEON. 

1 cor. God . . . giveth us the victory through our Lord 
xv - 57- Jesus Christ 

Soldier of the cross, the hour is coming when the 
note of victory shall be proclaimed throughout the 
world. The battlements of the enemy must soon suc- 
cumb; the swords of the mighty must soon be given 
up to the Lord of lords. What! soldier of the cross, 
in the day of victory wouldst thou have it said that 
thou didst turn thy back in the day of battle ? Dost 
thou not wish to have a share in the conflict, that thou 
mayest have a share in the victory ? If thou hast even 
' the hottest part of the battle, wilt thou flinch and fly ? 
Thou shalt have the brightest part of the victory if thou 

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art in the fiercest of the conflict. Wilt thou turn, and 
lose thy laurels ? Wilt thou throw down thy sword ? 
Shall it be with thee as when a standard-bearer faint- 
eth ? Nay, man, up to arms again! for the victory is 
certain. Though the conflict be severe, I beseech you, 
on to it again ! On, on, ye lion-hearted men of God, 
to the battle once more! for ye shall yet be crowned 
with immortal glory. spurgeon. 

Be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the \ cor. 

work of the Lord. xv. 58. 

Activity in doing good is one recipe for being cheer- 
ful Christians; it is like exercise to the body and it 
keeps the soul in health. ryle. 

Let not your exertions end in tears; mere weeping 
will do nothing without action. Get on your feet: ye 
that have voices and might, go forth and preach the 
gospel ; preach it in every street and lane of this huge 
city; ye that have wealth, go forth and spend it for the 
poor and sick and needy and dying, the uneducated, 
the unenlightened; ye that have time, go forth and 
spend it in deeds of goodness ; ye that have power in 
prayer, go forth and pray; ye that can handle the pen, 
go forth and write down iniquity, — every one to his 
post; every one of you to your gun in this day of bat- 
tle; now for God and for His truth; for God and for 
the right; let every one of us who knows the Lord 
seek to fight under His banner. spurgeon. 

Stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong! \ C or. 

The standing fast, the quitting ourselves like men, xvi. 13. 
is the duty that God has laid upon us. 

In the days of the Roman persecutions, the edict 
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One Thousand and One 

went forth from the emperor that every soldier in all 
the army should be submitted to a test as to his 
loyalty. He should pour the libation to the emperor, 
or die such death as his commander should pass upon 
him. In the northern part of Gaul there was a Julian 
legion of 100 men, with their centurion. They had be- 
come knit together in the dangers and self-sacrifices 
and hardships of a lonely, arduous, desperate service. 
The very flower of this band were Christians, who, it 
was known, would not worship the emperor. But the 
centurion set up the emperor's image and the libation 
was prepared. One by one the members of the band 
filed up, and either poured the libation, or said, " I am 
a Christian," and turned off to the left. When the test 
was over, there stood forty men, the very bravest and 
the best, the most self-sacrificing, and the best-beloved 
of all that band of men. Sorrowfully the commander 
sentenced them to death from exposure upon the 
frozen surface of the lake. As they went forth, a 
mighty song broke forth, " Forty wrestlers, wrestling 
for Thee, O Christ, claim for Thee the victory, and 
from Thee the crown." Far out on the ice they knelt 
down and raised their voices in thanksgiving to Christ 
Who had elected them to die for His honor and glory. 
The centurion caused a great fire to be built on the 
shore and dismissed the guard, while he, their well- 
beloved friend, strode up and down, keeping guard, in 
the hope that they might repent them of this strange 
faith which he did not understand, but which made 
them loyal, and true, and gentle, and good beyond 
their comrades. By and by he saw one dark form 
separating itself from the rest and come stumbling, 
creeping up the bank, intent on saving its life by the 

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sacrifice of its soul, but as the traitor fell down before 
the image of the emperor, the helmet and shield of the 
centurion clanged upon the ground, and he strode 
forth and joined himself unto them. Once again the 
cry went up, "Forty wrestlers, wrestling for Thee, O 
Christ, claim for Thee the victory, and from Thee the 
crown." 

The God of all comfort who comforteth us in all our ji cor. 
tribulations. L 3> 4- 

The more varied and manifold a man's experiences 
have become, the more he has the chance to know of 
God, the more chance God has to show Himself to 
him. Every new experience is a new opportunity of 
knowing God. Every experience is like a jewel set in 
the texture of our life, on which God shines and makes 
interpretation and revelation of Himself. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may \\ cor. 
be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by i. 4. 
the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of 
God. 

A larkspur cannot lecture on the nature of a snow- 
flake — it never saw a snowflake; and those people who 
have always lived in the summer of prosperity cannot 
talk to those who are frozen in disaster. talmage. 

Give me the comforts of God, and I can well bear 
the taunts of men. Let me lay my head on the bosom 
of Jesus, and I fear not the distraction of care and 
trouble. If my God will give me ever the light of His 
smile and glance His benediction — it is enough. Come 
on, foes, persecutors, friends, ay, Apollyon himself, 

275 



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for "the Lord God is my sun and shield." Gather, 
ye clouds, and environ me, I carry a sun within; 
blow, wind of the frozen north, I have a fire of liv- 
ing coal within ; yea, death, slay me, but I have an- 
other life, a life in the light of God's countenance. 

SPURGEON. 

ii cor. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our 
L 5- consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 

Surely there is more profound connection than we 
sometimes discover between the "sufferings" and the 
"consolation," between the "loss" welcomed for 
Jesus' sake and the eternal gain that follows after, as 
harvest follows sowing. " That I may know Him and 
the power of His resurrection" still stands between 
that willing self-emptying on the one hand, and the 
deeper "fellowship with His sufferings " on the other, 
for which even the heart of an apostle craved. 

Shall we shrink, then, from anything that makes 
more room for God ? Let us believe, rather, that if He 
withhold any earthly blessing, it is only that He may 
bestow "all spiritual blessings," and remember that 
He is dealing with us not for our profit merely, but for 
the good of many and the glory of His own great 
name, not for time only, but for eternity. 

GERALDINE GUINNESS. 

ii cor. All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him 
1. 20. Amen, unto the glory of God by us. 

The promises of God are to the believer an inex- 
haustible mine of wealth. Happy is it for him if he 
knows how to search out their secret veins, and enrich 
himself with their hid treasures! They are an armory, 
containing all manner of offensive and defensive 

276 



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weapons. Blessed is he who has learned to enter into 
the sacred arsenal, to put on the breast-plate and the 
helmet, and to lay his hand to the spear and to the 
sword! They are a surgery in which the believer will 
find all manner of restoratives and blessed elixirs; nor 
lacks there an ointment for every wound, a cordial for 
every faintness, a remedy for every disease. Blessed 
is he who is well skilled in heavenly pharmacy, and 
knoweth how to lay hold on the healing virtues of the 
promises of God! The promises are to the Christian a 
storehouse of food. They are as the granaries which 
Joseph built in Egypt, or as the golden pot wherein the 
manna was preserved. Blessed is he who can take the 
five barley-loaves and fishes of promise, and break 
them till his five thousand necessities shall all be sup- 
plied, and he is able to gather up basketsful of frag- 
ments! SPURGEON. 

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrec- 
tion, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring- 
time. LUTHER. 

All the promises in the Bible are so many bills of 
exchange drawn by God the Father in heaven upon 
His son Jesus Christ, and payable to every pious 
bearer, — to every one that comes to the mercy-seat, 
and offers the promise or bill for acceptance, and 
pleads in the way of obedient faith and prayer. Jesus, 
the High Treasurer of heaven, knows every letter of His 
Father's handwriting, and can never be imposed upon 
by any forged note. He will ever honor His Father's 
bills: He accepts them all. It is for His Father's honor 
that His bills never fail of acceptance and payment. 

BEAUMONT. 

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One Thousand and One 



ii cor. By faith ye stand. 

L 2 4* Faith may live in a storm, but it will not suffer a 
storm to live in it. As faith rises, so the blustering 
wind of discontented, troublesome thoughts goes down. 
In the same proportion that there is faith in the heart, 
there is peace also: they are joined together. " In re- 
turning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and 
confidence shall be your strength." 

II cor. Thanks be unto God which always leadeth us in triumph. 

(k m V* Those whom Jesus leads in triumph share His tri- 
umph. They may be a spectacle to angels and to 
men. Sometimes in the stocks; often accounted the 
offscouring of all things; yet, in the spiritual realm, 
they are made to triumph always. Conquered, they 
conquer; enslaved, they are free; last in this world, 
but in the front rank of heavenly society. Poor, beaten, 
vanquished soul, lift up thy head and rejoice; for if 
thou art conquered by Jesus, thou shalt be always 
made to triumph! f. b. meyer. 

ii cor. God . . . maketh manifest the savour of his knowl- 

n - M- edge by us in every place. 

A holy life is a silent witness for Jesus — an incense 
cloud from the heart-altar, breathing odors and sweet 
spices, of which the world cannot fail to take knowl- 
edge. ... It must and will manifest its living 
and influential power. The heart, broken at the cross, 
like Mary's broken box, begins from that hour to give 
forth the hallowed perfume of faith, and love, and 
obedience, and every kindred grace. macduff. 

ii cor. We are unto God a sweet savour of Christ. 
u " *5* When we are told that we may be to God a sweet 

278 



Thoughts from My Library 



savor of Christ, it must be meant that we may so live 
as to recall to the mind of God what Jesus was in His 
earthly career. It is as though, as God watches us from 
day to day, He should see Jesus in us, and be re- 
minded (speaking after the manner of men) of that 
blessed life which was offered as an offering, and a 
sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor. What a 
test for daily living! Is my life fragrant of Jesus? 
Do I remind the Father of the blessed Lord? Does 
He detect Jesus in my walk and speech ? and that 
there are in me the sweet savor of that daily burnt- 
offering, that delight in God's will, that holy joy in 
suffering for His glory, that absorption in His purposes 
which made the life of the Son of Man so well-pleas- 
ing tO God ? F. B. MEYER. 

To the one . . . the savour of death unto death; ii cor. 
and to the other the savour of life unto life. lL i(d - 

The sun and rain will give vigor and growth to a 
living tree, but the same sun and rain will increase the 
rot and decay in a dead one. pentecost. 

Ye are our epistle . . . known and read of all n cor. 
men. 2 - 
An epistle to be effective must be legible. There are 
so many that are illegible; what we want is to be 
epistles distinctly legible — written in a clear, bold 
hand, so that everybody can read us at once. When 
that great artist Dore was once travelling in southern 
Europe, he lost his passport. When he came to the 
boundary line where he needed to produce it, the offi- 
cial challenged him. Said he, "I have lost my pass- 
port; but it is all right — I am Dore, the artist. Please 
let me go on." "Oh, no," said the officer, "we have 

279 



One Thousand and One 



plenty of people representing themselves as this or 
that great one." After some conversation the man 
said, "Well, I want you to prove it. Here is a pencil 
and some paper. Now if you are Dore, the artist, 
draw me a picture." Dore took up the pencil, and 
with a few master strokes sketched some of the 
features of the neighborhood. Said the man, "Now I 
am perfectly sure of it. You are Dore. No other 
man could do that." It is no use professing to be a 
servant of Christ unless you are such a disciple that 
everybody can see what you are. You are to repro- 
duce His life in you. a. j. Gordon. 

A Christian is the world's Bible. In many cases a 
revised version is much needed. 

ii cor. We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory 
iii. 1 8. 0 f fj je L orc i f are changed into the same image from 
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 
The sunshine must fall on us, not as it does on some 
lonely hillside, lighting up the grey stones with a 
passing gleam that changes nothing, and fades away, 
leaving the solitude to its sadness; but as it does on 
some cloud cradled near its setting, which it drenches 
and saturates with fire till its cold heart burns, and 
all its wreaths of vapor are brightness palpable, glori- 
fied by the light which lives amidst its mists. So 
must we have the glory sink into us before it can be 
reflected from us. In deep inward beholding we must 
have Christ in our hearts, that He may shine forth from 
our lives. McLaren. 

The face is made every day by its morning prayer 
and by its morning look out of the windows which 
. open upon heaven. All manly grace and nobleness 

280 



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grow as they are used for God in heaven and truth on 
earth. Joseph parker. 

At present, the believer is like the marble in the 
hands of the sculptor; but though, day by day, he may 
give fresh touches, and work the marble into greater 
emulation of the original, the resemblance will be far 
from complete until death. Each fresh degree of like- 
ness is a fresh advance toward perfection. It must 
then be, that when every feature is moulded into 
similitude; when all traces of feebleness and depravity 
are swept away forever, the statue breathes, and the 
picture burns with Deity, — it must be that then we 
"shall be filled." We shall look on the descending 
Mediator, and, as though the ardent gaze drew down 
celestial fire, we shall seem instantly to pass through 
the refiner's furnace, and leaving behind all the dis- 
honor of the grave, and all the dross of corruptible 
humanity, spring upward, an ethereal, rapid, glow- 
ing thing, Christ's image, extracted by Christ's lustre. 

MELVILL. 

Christ . . . the image of God. \\ cor. 

The moon, a softer but not less beautiful object than lv - 4- 
the sun, returns, and communicates to mankind, the 
light of the sun in a gentle and delightful manner, 
exactly suited to the strength of the human eye: an 
illustration and most beautiful emblem, in this and 
other respects, of the Divine Redeemer of mankind, 
Who, softening the splendor of the Godhead, brings it 
to the eye of the understanding in a manner fitted to 
the strength of the mind, so that, without being over- 
whelmed or distressed, it can thus behold "the light 
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of 
Jesus Christ." dwight. • 

281 



One Thousand and One 



II cor. We have this treasure in earthen vessels that the ex- 
lv - 7- cellency of the power may be of God and not of us. 

Methought I looked and saw the Master standing, 
and at His feet lay an earthen vessel. It was not 
broken, not unfitted for service, yet there it lay, power- 
less and useless, until He took it up. He held it awhile, 
and I saw that He was filling it, and anon, I beheld 
Him walking in His garden, whither He had "gone 
down to gather lilies." The earthen vessel was yet 
again in His hand, and with it He watered His 
beauteous plants, and caused their odors to be shed 
forth yet more abundantly. Then I said to myself, 
"Sorrowing Christian, hush! hush! peace, be still! 
thou art this earthen vessel ; powerless, it is' true, yet 
not broken, still fit for the Master's use. Sometimes 
thou mayest be laid aside altogether from active 
service, and the question may arise, what is the 
Master doing with me now ? Then may a voice 
speak to thine inmost heart, ' He is filling the vessel, 
yes, only filling it ready for use.' Dost thou ask in 
what manner ? Nay, be silent. Is it not all too great 
an honor for thee to be used by Him at all ? Be con- 
tent, whether thou art employed in watering the lilies, 
or in washing the feet of the saints." Truly, it is a 
matter of small moment. Enough, surely enough, for 
an earthen vessel, to be in the Master's hands, and em- 
ployed in the Master's service. 

ii cor. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, work- 
iv. 17. eth for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory. 

We write our blessings on the water, but our 
afflictions on the rock. guthrie. 

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If at any time you feel disposed to say, "It is 
enough," and that you can bear the burden of life no 
longer, do as Elijah did, flee into the silence of solitude, 
and sit under — not the juniper-tree — but under that tree 
whereon the incarnate Son of God was made a curse 
for you. Here your soul will assuredly find sweet 
refreshment, from Christ's acceptable offering to God. 
. . . At the sight of the cross you will no longer 
think of complaining of the greatness of your suffer- 
ings; for here you behold sufferings, in comparison 
with which yours must be accounted a light affliction 
which is but for a moment; here the righteous One 
suffers for you, — the just for the unjust. . . . 
Under the cross you are prevented from supposing 
that some strange thing is happening unto you; "the 
disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above 
his Lord. . . ." At the foot of the cross your 
grief will soon be lost in that peace and joy of God 
which drops from this tree of life into the ground of 
your heart, and the foretaste you will here obtain of 
heaven, will sweeten the troubles of this life as with 
the breath of morning. . . . Yea, the cross itself 
will be transformed into such a medium between 
heaven and earth, that the most comforting thoughts 
shall descend into your soul, and the most grateful 
thoughts shall ascend from your soul to heaven 
like those angels of God seen in a vision on the plains 
of Bethel by the solitary and benighted patriarch, Jacob. 

KRUMMACHER. 

If our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, n cor. 
we have a building of God, an house not made with v. i. 
hands, eternal in the heavens. 
Living is death: dying is life. We are not what we 
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One Thousand and One 



appear to be. On this side of the grave, we are 
exiles; on that, citizens: on this side, orphans; on that, 
children: on this side, captives; on that, freemen: on 
this side, disguised, unknown; on that, disclosed and 
proclaimed as the sons of God. beecher. 

ii cor. We walk by faith, not by sight. 
v * '* "We live by faith," says the apostle, "and not by 
sight, or by sense." They are as two buckets — the 
life of faith, and the life of sense; when one goes up, 
the other goes down; the higher faith rises, the lower 
sense and reason; and the higher sense and reason, 
the lower faith. That is true of the schools. Reason 
going before faith weakens and diminishes it; but 
reason following upon faith, increases and strengthens 
it. Luther says well, " If you would believe, you must 
crucify that question, Why?" God would not have 
us so full of wherefores. And if you would believe, 
you must go blindfold into God's command. Abra- 
ham subscribes to a blank when the Lord calls him out 
of his own country. bridge. 

ii cor. The love of Christ constraineth us. 

v * ! 4- Ah! Love, what canst thou not do? Thou canst 
make the timid brave, and the weak strong. The 
martyr, the patriot, the hero have learned of thee the 
secret of finding beds of down on stones, and gardens 
of flowers on barren sands. Thou didst bring the King 
Himself from the midst of His royalties to the cross, 
and He counted all things but loss that He might 
redeem the church on whom He had set His heart. 
Then self will be dethroned, the cross of daily-dying 
will be robbed of its bitterness, the furnace floor will 
become a flower-enamelled pathway, if only thou 

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shalt reign in us supreme! . . . The love that can 
expel self is not the vague love of a principle or 
theory, but of a person. It is the love of Christ which 
passeth knowledge. "I saw," says George Fox, "a 
sea of light and a sea of ink; and the sea of light 
flowed into the sea of ink, and swept it away for- 
ever." F. B. MEYER. 

Love is the blood of the universe. beecher. 

All things are become new. n cor. 

One of Goethe's tales is of a rude fisherman's hut v - ! 7- 
which was changed to silver by the setting in it of a 
little silver lamp. The logs of which the hut was 
built, its floors, its doors, its roof, its furniture, — all 
was changed to silver by this magic lamp. The 
story illustrates what takes place in the home when 
Christ comes into it. Everything after that is different. 
The outward conditions and circumstances maybe the 
same, but they shine now with a new beauty. 

Just as the sun gleams over the palace, and into the 
cottage, flushing alike with its splendor the council- 
chamber of the monarch and the kitchen of the 
peasant; as the all-pervasive light fills the vast dome of 
the sky, and the tiny cup of the flower; so religion 
illumines at once the heaven of our hopes, and the 
earth of our cares. Secularities become hallowed; toil 
brightens with the smile of God; business becomes 
crystalline; light from God comes through it to us; 
glances from us go through it to God. coley. 

Workers together with him. u cor. 

Christian worker, be clean, pure of heart, and vi. i. 
simple in motive. See to it that there be no friction 

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One Thousand and One 



between your will and Christ's. Be adjusted, in gear, 
well set and jointed. Subdue your own activities as 
much as your own natural lethargy. Stand still till 
God impels you. Wait till He works in you to will 
and to do of His good pleasure. Exercise faith that 
God should accomplish in you the greatest results 
possible to the capacity of your nature. Let there be 
no thought of what you can do for God, but all 
thought of what God can do through you. Nothing 
will make you so intense and ceaseless in your activity 

as this. F. B. MEYER. 

ii cor. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the 

vi. 2. day of salvation. 

A minister of the gospel determined on one occasion 
to preach on the text, "Now is the accepted time; 
now is the day of salvation." Whilst in his study, 
thinking, he fell asleep, and dreamed that he was 
carried into hell, and set down in the midst of a con- 
clave of lost spirits. They were assembled to devise 
means whereby they might get at the souls of men. 
One rose, and said, "I will go to the earth, and tell 
men that the Bible is all a fable, that it is not divinely 
appointed of God." No, that would not do. Another 
said, " Let me go: I will tell men that there is no God, 
no Saviour, no heaven, no hell " ; and at the last words 
a fiendish smile lighted upon all their countenances. 
"No, that will not do: we cannot make men believe 
that." Suddenly one arose, and with a wise mien, 
like the serpent of old, suggested, "No: I will journey 
to the world of men, and tell them that there is a God, 
that there is a Saviour, that there is a heaven, — yes, 
and a hell too, — but I'll tell them there is no hurry ; 

286 



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to-morrow will do, it will be ' even as to-day.' " And 
they sent him. 

In Nebuchadnezzar's image, the lower the members, 
the coarser the metal; the farther off the time, the 
more unfit. To-day is the golden opportunity; to- 
morrow will be the silver season; next day but the 
brazen one; and so on, till at last I shall come but to 
the toes of clay, and be turned to dust. fuller. 

As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing. . 11 cor. 

A Christian man's life is laid in the loom of time to VL I0 * 
a pattern which he does not see, but God does; and 
his heart is a shuttle. On one side of the loom is 
sorrow, and on the other is joy; and the shuttle, struck 
alternately by each, flies back and forth, carrying the 
thread, which is white or black as the pattern needs. 
And in the end, when God shall lift up the finished 
garment, and all its changing hues shall glance out, it 
will then appear that the deep and dark colors were as 
needful to beauty as the bright and high colors. 

BEECHER. 

What -part hath he that believeth with an infidel ? h cor. 

Keep clear of any system of religion which con- vl - ! 5- 
founds the world and true believers. ryle. 

Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith n cor. 
the Lord and touch not the unclean thing: and I vl * ! 7- 
will receive you. 

Don't roll in the mire to please the pigs. 

SPURGEON. 

The electrician cannot charge your body with elec- 
tricity, while a single thread connects you with the 
ground, and breaks the completeness of your insula- 

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tion. The Lord Jesus cannot fully save you whilst 
there is one point of controversy between you and 
Him. Let Him have that one last thing, the last bar- 
rier and film to a life of blessedness, and glory will 
come filling your soul. f. b. meyer. 

In Brazil, there grows a common plant, which forest- 
dwellers call the matador, or " murderer." Its slender 
stem creeps at first along the ground ; but no sooner 
does it meet a vigorous tree, than, with clinging grasp, 
it cleaves to it, and climbs it, and, as it climbs, keeps, 
at short intervals, sending out arm-like tendrils that 
embrace the tree. As the murderer ascends, these 
ligatures grow larger, and clasp tighter. Up, up, it 
climbs a hundred feet, nay, two hundred if need be, 
until the last loftiest spire is gained and fettered. 
Then, as if in triumph, the parasite shoots a huge, 
flowery head above the strangled summit, and thence, 
from the dead tree's crown, scatters its seed to do 
again the work of death. Even thus worldliness has 
strangled more churches than ever persecution broke. 

COLEY. 

One cannot honor Christ in one's walk, and at the 
same time walk with those who dishonor Him. 

ii cor. Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be 

vii. 10. repented of. 

True repentance is that one step that no man ever 
repented. . . . The way of life is a narrow path, 
but the footsteps in it are all in one direction, — not 
one has ever come back and said it was a delusion. 

RYLE. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



The gentleness of Christ. 



II COR. 



The gentleness of Christ is the comeliest ornament x ' lm 



The weapons of our warfare are . . . mighty n cor. 



When the soldier enlists in his country's army, he is 
furnished with uniform and arms. ... So God 
arms His recruits, equipping them with both power 
and sword. Their business is to use to the best ad- 
vantage what God bestows upon them. He gave 
Moses a rod, David a sling, Samson the jawbone of an 
ass, Shamgar an ox-goad, Esther beauty of person, 
Deborah the gift of poesy, Dorcas a needle, and 
Apollos an eloquent tongue, and to each the ability to 
use what each one had, and in so doing each one did 
most effective work for God. So He supplies each 
one of His disciples to-day with something that when 
used will make him useful in His kingdom, and to 
each man " to profit withal." Let us use the weapon 
that God has given us and not sit down to pine for 
the instrument that He has bestowed upon another. 
The use of the weapon that we have will make us a 
success. The attempt to use another's would make 
us a failure. w. w. dawley. 

My grace is sufficient for thee : for my strength is made \\ cor. 

perfect in weakness. xii. 9. 

God's way of answering His people's prayers is not 
by removing the pressure, but by increasing their 
strength to bear it. The pressure is often the fence 
between the narrow way of life and the broad road to 
ruin; and if our Heavenly Father were to remove it, it 
might be at the sacrifice of heaven. Oh ! if God had 



that a Christian can wear. 



ARNOT. 



I through God. 



x. 4. 



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One Thousand and One 



removed that thorny fence in answer, often to earnest 
prayers, how many of us would now be castaways! 
How the song of many a saint now in glory would be 
hushed ! How many a harp would be unstrung ! How 
many a place in the mansions of the redeemed would 
be unfilled ! If God answered all the prayers we put up 
to heaven, we should need no other scourge. Blessed 
it is that we have One Who is too loving to grant what 
we too often so rashly ask. f. whitfield. 

Every "to-morrow " has two handles. We can take 
hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of 
faith. 

ii cor. Examine yourselves. 

xni. 5. jf y 0ur state k e good, searching into it will give you 
the comfort of it. If your state be bad, searching into 
it cannot make it worse; nay, it is the only way to 
make it better, for conversion begins with conviction. 

BISHOP HOPKINS. 

gal. Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . gave himself for our 
i. 3, 4- sins that he might deliver us from this present evil 
world. 

Attachment to Christ is the only secret of detach- 
ment from the world. a. j. Gordon. 

gal. Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other 
i. 8. gospel unto you than that which we have preached 
unto you, let him be accursed. 

No matter how infidel philosophers may regard the 
Bible : they may say that Genesis is awry, and that the 
Psalms are more than half bitter imprecations, and the 
Prophecies only the fantasies of brain-bewildered men, 
and the Gospels weak laudations of an impostor, and 

290 



Thoughts from My Library 



the Epistles but the letters of a mad Jew, and that the 
whole book has had its day, I shall cling to it until 
they show me a better revelation. The Bible emptied, 
effete, worn out! If all the wisest men of the world 
were placed man to man, they could not sound the 
shallowest depth of the Gospel of John. O philoso- 
phers! break the shell, and fly out, and let me hear 
how you can sing, — not of passion, I know that al- 
ready; not of worldly power, I hear that everywhere: 
but teach me, through your song, how to find joy in 
sorrow, strength in weakness, and light in darkest 
days; how to bear buffeting and scorn; how to wel- 
come death, and to pass, through its ministration, into 
the sphere of life; and this, not for me only, but for 
the whole world that groans and travails in pain. And, 
until you can do this, speak not to me of a better reve- 
lation. # BEECHER. 

Neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus G al. 

Christ. i. 12. 

A little from God is better than a great deal from 
men. What is from men is often tumbled over and 
over; things that we receive at God's hand come to us 
as things from the minting house. Old truths are al- 
ways new to us if they come with the smell of heaven 
upon them. bunyan. 

// pleased God . . . to reveal his Son in me. 

O soul of man, has this revelation ever been thy ex- 
perience ? Dost thou know that Christ is in thee ? If 
thou truly believest in Him, there is no doubt of it. 
" Know ye not as to your own selves, how that Jesus 
Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates ?" And yet 
thou mayest be in ignorance of this transcendent pos- 

291 



GAL. 

i. 15, 

1 6. 



One Thousand and One 



session. Ask God to reveal His Son in thee, to make 
thee know experimentally the riches of the glory of 
this mystery. He will rend the veil of the inner life in 
twain from the top to the bottom, and in the most 
holy place of thy spirit disclose the Shekinah of His 
eternal presence. Two conditions only must be ful- 
filled. Thou must be prepared to yield thine own will 
to the cross; and to wait before God in the silence and 
solitude of thy spirit. f. b. meyer. 

gal. Not I, but Christ. 

' 20, Paint Jesus Christ upon your canvas, and then hold 
Him up to the people ; but so hold Him up, that not 
even your little finger can be seen. payson. 

I watched an old man trout-fishing once, pulling 
them out one after another briskly. " You manage it 
cleverly, old friend," I said. "I have passed a good 
many below who don't seem to be doing anything." 
The old man lifted himself up, and stuck his rod in 
the ground. "Well, you see, sir, there be three rules 
for trout-fishing; and 'tis no use trying if you don't 
mind them. The first is keep yourself out of sight. 
The second is keep yourself further out of sight. And 
the third is keep yourself further out of sight still. 
Then you'll do it." "Good for catching men, too," I 
thought, as I went on my way. mark guy pearse. 

I was in Italy last year; and, in crossing the Alps 
with my wife, the sun was so hot, that it scorched her 
face. She asked me to get her some elder-flower water. 
I started off to a chemist; and, as I did not know a 
word of the Italian language, I looked through the jars 
and bottles in his shop, but could not find anything of 

292 



Thoughts from My Library 



the kind. I tried to jabber something in French; but 
he did not understand me, because it was no language 
at all. I went down to a little brook that ran through 
the town, and, walking along the edge, I came to an 
elder-flower-tree. I got a handful of flowers, walked 
off to the shop, and held it up to the man; and he 
knew in an instant what I meant. I think it is not 
easy to convey the gospel to the heart by merely talk- 
ing of it; but if you can say by your own life, "This 
is the life of Christ, this is the joy of being a Chris- 
tian," you will be much more likely to make converts. 

SPURGEON. 

You can't jump away from your shadow, but if you 
turn to the sun your shadow is behind you, and if you 
stand right under the sun your shadow is beneath you. 
What we should try to do is to live under the merid- 
ian Sun, with our shadow-self under our feet. 

F. B. MEYER. 

Ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 

J GAL. 

I have seen a field here, and a field there, stand thick in. 28. 
with corn — a hedge or two has separated them. At 
the proper season the reapers entered; soon the earth 
was disburdened, and the grain was conveyed to its 
destined resting-place, where, blended together in the 
barn or in the stack, it could not be known that a 
hedge had ever separated this corn from that. Thus it 
is with the church. Here it grows, as it were, in dif- 
ferent fields, and even, it may be, by different hedges. 
By and by, when the harvest is come, all God's wheat 
shall be gathered into the garner, without one single 
mark to distinguish that once they differed in outward 
circumstantials of form and order. toplady. 

293 



One Thousand and One 



gal. The fruit of the Spirit is . . . gentleness. 
v ' 22 ' It is curious to remark, that wherever the Holy 
Ghost is spoken of in the Bible, He is spoken of in 
terms of gentleness and love. We often read of "the 
wrath of God" the Father, as Rom. i. 18; and we 
read of the wrath of God the Son, as Ps. ii. 12, but we 
nowhere read of the wrath of God the Holy Ghost. 

m'cheyne. 

gal. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law 
vi - 2 - of Christ. 

However perplexed you may at any hour become 
about some question of truth, one refuge and resource 
is always at hand: you can do something for some one 
besides yourself. When your own burden is heaviest, 
you can always lighten a little some other burden. At 
the times when you cannot see God, there is still open 
to you this sacred possibility, to show God; for it is 
the love and kindness of human hearts through which 
the divine reality comes home to men, whether they 
name it or not. Let this thought then, stay with you: 
there may be times when you cannot find help, but 
there is no time when you cannot give help. 

G. S. MERRIAM. 

There is no anodyne for heart-sorrow like ministry 
to others. If your life is woven with the dark shades 
of sorrow, do not sit down in sorrow to deplore your 
hapless lot, but arise to seek out those who are more 
miserable than you are, bearing them balm for their 
wounds and love for their heart-breaks. And if you 
are unable to give much practical help, you may 
largely help the children of bitterness by listening to 
their tales of woe or to their dreams of foreboding. 

294 



Thoughts from My Library 



The burdened heart longs to pour out its tale in a sym- 
pathetic ear. There is immense relief in the telling 
out of pain. But it cannot be hurried; it needs plenty 
of time. If you can do nothing else, listen well, and 
comfort others with the comfort wherewith you your- 
self have been comforted by God. And as you listen, 
and comfort, and wipe the falling tear, you will dis- 
cover that your own load is lighter, and that a branch 
or twig of the true tree — the tree of the cross — has 
fallen into the bitter waters of your own life, making 
the Marah, Naomi, and the marshes of salt tears will 
have been healed. f. b. meyer. 

Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. gal. 

You can't grow the tulips of the kingdom of God VL 7* 
unless you get the bulbs from heaven. 

Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season gal. 
we shall reap if we faint not. vl - 9- 

Are we preparing for the true heavenly feast of tab- 
ernacles—the great reaping-day of glory ? That well- 
known feast and season in the land of Canaan was a 
joyous one of old only to the Hebrew who had been 
unremitting in spring and summer toil. To the slug- 
gard who had left his fields unsown, uncultured, un- 
tended, there could be no participation in the songs of 
the jubilant multitude: he had gone forth before the 
fall of the early or the latter rains, bearing no precious 
seed; he could not, therefore, on that festive week, 
come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with 
him. It was he, who had used with laborious fidelity 
and drudgery, spade and plough and pruning-hook, 
who had utilized for field and vineyard the precious 
rains of heaven, that would bear his palm-branch with 

295 



One Thousand and One 



most exultant joy, and repose with grateful satisfac- 
tion within his shady arbor. If there were no harvest 
to divide, there could be no gladness. " They joy be- 
fore Thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men 
rejoice when they divide the spoil." 

It is so, on a vaster scale, with the spiritual sower 
and reaper in the prospect of immortality. While we 
never dare lose sight of the foundation-truth of the 
gospel, that salvation is of grace, not of works; yet 
neither dare we reject or overlook the great counter- 
part assertion, which contains at least no paradox or 
inconsistency to the eye gifted with spiritual discern- 
ment, that "faith without works is dead, being alone." 
No waving of the festal palm, by those who have 
abandoned their fields of heart and life labor to the 
thorn and the thistle, — who have left the seed unsown, 
the ground untilled, the vine to languish; and whom 
God, the great Husbandman, will address with the 
withering words on the great day of harvest — "What 
could I have done more to My vineyard than I have 
done; wherefore, then, when I looked that it should 
bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ?" If 
we would have the joyous song of the heavenly 
reaper, we must now be among the faithful and dili- 
gent sowers. 

The rest of the feast of tabernacles above, is only 
possible to such. No toil here, — no repose, no festal 
hosanna yonder. " Let us labor, therefore, to enter 
into that rest." Up! sow your fields and plant your 
vineyards; do noble work while you have space and 
opportunity to do it (in your own hearts and in the 
world around you) for God and His Christ, encouraged 
by the assurance — " Be not weary in well-doing, for in 

296 



Thoughts from My Library 



due season ye shall reap if ye faint not." To all such 
willing and devoted laborers; to all who have listened 
to the summons of the Master, "Go, work in my 
vineyard"; to all who have done battle with sin, man- 
fully struggled with temptation, eradicated from the 
seed-plot of the heart its roots of bitterness; who in 
a spirit of earnest self-sacrifice have renounced the 
world, and in a spirit of holy self-consecration and 
self-surrender have given themselves to God, — the in- 
vitation of Christ to the heavy-laden here, will have a 
new and glorious significance as He welcomes them 
hereafter at heaven's great harvest-home, the eternal 
feast of tabernacles — "Come unto Me, I will give you 
rest!" MACDUFF. 
* 

God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our gal. 

Lord Jesus Christ. vi. 14. 

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the centre of 
human history. It is the sun around which the firma- 
ment circles; the key to all Scripture history and type; 
the fact which gives meaning and beauty to all other 
facts. To ignore the cross is to repeat the error of the 
old philosophers, who thought that the earth, and not 
the sun was the centre of our system, and to whom 
therefore the very heavens were in confusion. To 
know and love the cross — to stand beside it as the 
faithful women did when Jesus died — is to obtain a 
deep insight into the harmonies of all things in heaven 
and in earth. . . . The radiance that streams from 
the cross illumines all events and banishes all darkness. 
When an artist in music, color, or stone, conceives a 
beautiful idea he seems reluctant to let it drop: he 
hints at it before he expresses it in complete beauty; 

297 



One Thousand and One 



nor is he satisfied until he has exhausted his art by the 
variety of ways in which he has embodied his thought. 
The practiced sense may detect it now in the sym- 
phony, and then in the chorus; now in the general 
scheme, and again in the minute detail. It recurs 
again and again. There is the hint, the outline, the 
slight symptom, anticipating the fuller, richer revela- 
tion. Is not this true also of the death of our beloved 
Lord ? The Great Artist of all things, enamored 
with the wondrous cross, filled the world with fore- 
shadowings and anticipations of it long before it stood 
with outstretched arms on the little hill of Calvary. 
You may find them in heathen myths, or in ancient 
sayings and songs. You may find them in touching 
incidents of human history. You may, above all, find 
them upon the pages of the Bible. . . . The sun 
which now shines, so to speak, from the other side of 
the cross, so as to fling its shadow forward clear and 
sharp on the canvas of the present, once shone from 
where we now stand, and flung its shadow backward 
upon the canvas of the past. f. b. meyer. 

eph. Grace be to you and peace from God. 

L 2 - Precious as the fruit is, do not put it where the root 
should be. Peace is not the root of grace in the soul, it 
is the fruit, and must not be put out of its proper posi- 
tion. SPURGEON. 

eph. He hath made us accepted in the beloved. 

i- 6- There are many locks in my house, and all with dif- 
ferent keys; but I have one master-key which opens 
all. So the Lord has many treasuries and secrets, all 
shut up from carnal minds with locks which they can- 
not open; but he who walks in fellowship with Jesus 

298 



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possesses the master-key which will admit him to all 
the blessings of the covenant; yea, to the very heart 
of God. Through the Well-beloved we have access 
to God, to heaven, to every secret of the Lord. 

SPURGEON. 

In whom also, after that ye believed, ye' were sealed eph. 
with that holy Spirit of promise. L l 3- 

Wherever a seal is mentioned in Scripture, you find 
that it is something that everybody can see. Every- 
body could see the seal on the mouth of the cave, 
when Daniel was cast into the den of lions. It would 
be a seal, perhaps with the king's likeness on it, or, at 
any rate, with his name; and this seal, which was 
wont to be stamped on a document, would, in the case 
of the den, be stamped upon softened clay. . . . 
The Lord puts a seal upon His own, that everybody 
may know them; and this is done " after ... ye 
believed." This must mean something that marks 
you out to the observation of the world as God's peo- 
ple, something that the world can see. The sealing 
in your case is the Spirit producing in you likeness to 
the Lord, — to the King and to the King's Son. You 
have got the seal of God on you when you exhibit 
likeness to God's Son. The holier you become, the 
seal is the more distinct and plain, the more evident to 
every passer-by, for then will men take notice of you 
that you have been with Jesus. A seal like that 
spoken of in Rev. vii. 2, "on the forehead" is yours. 
The sealing is something that cannot be hid. It is not 
even on the palm of your hand. It is in your fore- 
head: all men see that you are not what you once 
were. The world takes notice that you are like what 

299 



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they have heard Jesus was. Whenever that takes 
place, the sealing is begun, and it remains all your life- 
time and becomes more and more plain. Every be- 
liever is thus " sealed." bonar. 

eph. Ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which 
i- *3j is the earnest of our inheritance. 

In the early times, when land was sold, the owner 
cut a turf from the greensward and cast it into the cap 
of the purchaser as a token that it was his; or he tore 
off the branch of a tree and put it into the new owner's 
hand to show that he was entitled to all the products 
of the soil; and when the purchaser of a house re- 
ceived seizin or possession, the key of the door, or a 
bundle of thatch plucked from the roof, signified that 
* the building was yielded up to him. The God of all 
grace has given to His people all the perfections of 
heaven to be their heritage forever, and the earnest of 
His Spirit is to them the blessed token that all things 
are theirs. The Spirit's work of comfort and sanctifi- 
cation is a part of heaven's covenant blessings, a turf 
from the soil of Canaan, a twig from the tree of life, 
the key to mansions in the skies. Possessing the ear- 
nest of the Spirit, we have received seisin of heaven. 

SPURGEON. 

eph. God . . . hath quickened us . . . hath raised 
ii. 4, us up . . . hath made us sit . . . in heav- 
5> 6. enly places. 

A drop of water lay one day in a gutter, soiled, 
stained, polluted. Looking up into the blue of the 
sky, it began to wish for purity, to long to be cleansed 
and made crystalline. Its sigh was heard, and it was 

300 



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quickly lifted up by the sun's gentle fingers — up, out 
of the foul gutter, into the sweet air, then higher and 
higher; at length the gentle winds caught it and bore 
it away, away, and by and by it rested on a distant 
mountain top, a flake of pure, white, beautiful snow. 

J. R. MILLER. 

Exceeding riches of his grace. eph. 
Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly. — Eph. 1L 7- 
Hi. 20. 

Love of Chist which passeth knowledge. — Eph. Hi. 19. 

The Apostle Paul writes not merely of the exceeding 
greatness of God's power to us-ward who believe 
(Eph. i. 19), but of the exceeding riches of God's grace 
(ii. 7), and of the Father being able to do exceeding 
abundantly above all that we ask or think (iii. 20). 
Again, he prays (verse 19) that we ' 'may know the 
love of Christ, which passeth (exceedeth) knowledge." 
So there is exceeding grace — that explains how we 
can be God's people; there is exceeding love — that 
tells us how all these glories can be ours, for He chose 
to love us; and then there is exceeding power, the ex- 
ceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who be- 
lieve. That is the thing we want, and we get it in this 
order. Come near to the Lord, yield yourselves to 
Him, recognize what He wants you for; and then put 
yourselves where it flows. Hubert brooke. 

By grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of eph. 

yourselves ; it is the gift of God: not of works. ii. 8, 9. 

You cannot get to heaven by your works. You 
might as well seek to mount the stars on a tread- 
wheel, as to go to heaven by works; for as you get 
up a step, you will always come down as low as be- 

301 



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fore. If you cannot be perfect, God will not save you 
by works. spurgeon. 

eph. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
• I0 - good works, which God hath before ordained that 
we should walk in them. 

The works are ready, waiting for us, all we have to 
do is to be willing to be led into them. How many 
disappointments we should have been spared in life if 
we had always acted on this conviction. God knows 
what we are fitted for far better than we know our- 
selves. He who made us knows whereof we are 
made. He won't put " square pegs into round holes. 
. . ." If we would be useful in Christ's service our 
wisdom is "to have no plan except to enter into His 
plan for us," and say with Paul, "Lord, what wilt 
Thou have me to do ?" e. w. moore. 

No man is born into the world whose work is not 
born with him; there is always work, and tools to 
work withal, for those who will. lowell. 

Each redeemed soul should remember that God has 
sent us into the world with gifts, duties and opportu- 
nities, which He Who has ordained them will help us 
to cultivate, and expects us to improve. All God's 
ways are consistent with each other, and complete 
each other. Every one has been sent into the world 
with a work to do, and with the means for doing it. 
He who does not see his work, probably has not taken 
the pains to discover it. He who morosely complains 
of his scanty opportunities might be surprised to hear 
that his own negligence has made them scantier. We 
can't see with our eyes shut. bishop thorold. 

302 



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Jesus Christ . . . in whom all the building fitly eph. 
framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the 11 • 20 > 
Lord. 21 - 

A man dreamed that he was trying to build for him- 
self a temple to commemorate his name. He wanted 
a whole temple to himself, and an angel came to show 
him one that was a model of beauty. But there was 
one stone missing from its peak, and the man asked 
the angel where it was. " There has never been one 
there," replied the angel. "We intended to place you 
there, but you say that you want a whole temple to 
yourself, and so the place will be filled by some one 
else. But you will never have your special temple.'* 
Then the man, aroused by his fears, started up from 
his sleep, crying, "O, God, put me in your temple. 
Put me in, even though I can be but a chink stone. 
Put me in! " 

/ ... am less than the least of all saints. eph. 

Christ was an unsurpassable teacher and many were & 
those who resorted to Him for instruction. But when 
He wanted through His servant to teach humility, the 
ordinary terms of grammar would not do, and a new 
degree of comparison had to be introduced — little, less, 
least, and "less than the least." 

The love of Christ which passeth knowledge. eph. 

It may seem very strange that the apostle should m - ! 9- 
bid us undertake to know a love which passes knowl- 
edge, and to seek after a peace which passes under- 
standing. And yet there is no contradiction in these 
terms. When they were laying the Atlantic cable, 
they came to places they were unable to fathom. 
They would let down their fathoming line a thousand 

303 



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fathoms, a second thousand, a third, a fourth, a fifth, 
and even a sixth thousand fathoms, and the lead 
would swing clear; and, whenever in the ocean such a 
place is found, we call it unfathomable; that is, we 
express our knowledge of those depths by saying that 
we do not know. And so we express our highest 
knowledge of the love of God by saying that it passes 
full comprehension; and so we express our estimate 
of the peace of God, by saying that it passeth all un- 
derstanding. 

Oh! there is a voice in love; it speaks a language 
which is its own; it has an idiom and a brogue which 
none can mimic; wisdom cannot imitate it; oratory 
cannot attain unto it; it is love alone which can reach 
the mourning heart; love is the only handkerchief 
which can wipe the mourner's tears away. And is 
not the Holy Ghost a loving comforter ? Dost thou 
know, O saint! how much the Holy Spirit loves thee? 
Canst thou measure the love of the Spirit? Dost thou 
know how great is the affection of His soul toward 
thee? Go measure heaven with thy span; go weigh 
the mountains in the scales; go take the ocean's water, 
and tell each drop; go count the sand upon the sea's 
wide shore; and, when thou hast accomplished this, 
thou canst tell how much He loveth thee. He has 
loved thee long, He has loved thee well, He loved thee 
ever, and He still shall love thee: surely He is the per- 
son to comfort thee, because He loves. spurgeon. 

eph. Filled with all the fullness of God. 
iii. 19- Standing on the deck of a ship in mid-ocean, you 
see the sun reflected from its depths. From a little 
boat on a mountain lake you see the sun reflected from 

3°4 



Thoughts from My Library 



its shallow waters. Looking into the mountain spring, 
not more than six inches in diameter, you see the same 
great sun. Look into the dewdrop of the morning, 
and there it is again. The sun has a way of adapting 
itself to its reflections. The ocean is not too large to 
hold it, nor the dewdrop too small. So God can fill 
any man, whether his capacity be like the ocean, like 
the mountain lake, like the spring, or like the dew- 
drop. Whatever therefore be your capacity, the text 
opens to you the possibility of being " Filled with the 
fullness of God." a. c. dixon. 

Beware of emptiness. . . . Empty hours, empty 
hands, empty companions, empty words, empty 
hearts, draw in evil spirits, as a vacuum draws in air. 
To be occupied with good is the best defence against 
the inroads of evil. arnot. 

Speaking the truth in love. eph. 

One way in which disciples wash one another's feet lv * ! 5 
is by reproving one another. But the reproof must 
not be couched in angry words, so as to destroy the 
effect; nor in tame, so as to fail of effect. Just as in 
washing a brother's feet you must not use boiling 
water to scald them, nor frozen water to freeze them. 

FINLAYSON. 

The best way of eradicating error is to publish and 
practice truth. arnot. 

Speaking the truth in love. eph. 
Warning . . . and teaching . . . in all wis- 
dom. — Col. i. 28. 

A Christian, in all his ways, must have three guides 
— Truth, Charity, Wisdom: Truth to go before him, 

305 



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One Thousand and One 



EPH 

iv. 30 



Charity and Wisdom on either hand. If any of the 
three be absent, he walks amiss. I have seen some 
do hurt, by following a truth uncharitably; and others, 
while they would salve up an error with love, have 
failed in their wisdom, and offended against justice. 

BISHOP HALL. 

Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. 

The Spirit of God is your companion. Most exalted 
of all beings, He abides with you on the footing of a 
friend, to teach, persuade, purify and bless. He is 
particular indeed; but it is for your good. He inter- 
feres with you at times; — not to make a display of 
His authority, but for your preservation. He restrains 
you at the entrance of some dark pit; it is because a 
wolf has made its lair there. He stops you as you are 
stepping into a boat; it is because a whirlwind is rush- 
ing to meet it. He hurries you away from some ele- 
vated spot: it is because the mountain is heaving, and 
a volcano is about to burst forth. Dispute not with 
Him; grieve Him not. He does nothing to grieve 
you. BOWEN. 

eph. Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving 
lv - 3 2 - one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath for- 
given you. 

As a seal leaves a mark of itself in the wax, whereby 
it is known; so it is' with every one who has a readi- 
ness to forgive others; for by it the Christian may 
know that God has sealed the forgiveness of his sins 
upon his heart. cawdray. 

eph. Be ye . . . imitators of God as beloved children 
v - !• and walk in love. 
(r. v.). cannot expect successfully to imitate Christ, un- 

306 



Thoughts from My Library 



less we contemplate His person, any more than a 
painter can reproduce a landscape without his studying 
it and drinking in the spirit which pervades the whole. 
We must take time to sit at His feet, studying His 
character as revealed to us in the Gospels, and being 
transformed, as it were, unconsciously into His image. 
What we want is not more knowledge of truth, but 
more practical carrying it out. R. h. schofield. 

Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in eph. 
the Lord: walk as children of light v - & 

A Christian, when he makes a good profession, 
should be sure to make his profession good. It is sad 
to see many walk in the dark themselves, who carry 
a lantern for others. pecker. 

It is only light that can enlighten. It is only fire 
that can kindle flame. Hence if we would illuminate 
others, we must have light in ourselves; and if we 
would kindle the flame of piety in the hearts of others, 
we must take the "live coal" with which we do so 
from the burning "altar" of our own spirit. 

TAYLOR. 

That you may give light, be sure you have light. 
When the Atlantic cable is alive, that is when its in- 
sulation is perfect, and it is fitted for its work, a bright 
light is reflected on a mirror, and thence on a dial, and 
its movements give the signs. When it is dead — that 
is when its insulation is destroyed, and the current is 
running to the earth — that light disappears. So when 
the soul is alive, its light shines ; when it is dead, there 
is darkness. john hall. 

307 



One Thousand and One 



eph. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of dark- 

• 1 1 • ness. 

The man who goes into the world to level it up will 
soon find himself levelled down. f. b. meyer. 

eph. See then that ye walk circumspectly. 

' ] 5- There is no such thing as negative influence. We 
are all positive in the place we occupy, making the 
world better or making it worse. talmage. 

eph. Redeeming the time. 

• What possibilities are yours? Every new day that 
dawns is a fresh opportunity : it is like the marble in 
the quarry waiting for you to chisel out of it some 
beautiful thing — some lasting monument of purity and 
grace that shall stand for you when your earth life is 
ended. Remember that God gives you the marble to 
make of it what you will. 

eph. Be filled with the Spirit. 

. 1 8. When the Lord Jesus was carried up into heaven, 
did not His mantle descend back again to earth ? Had 
it not been promised " Greater things than these shall 
ye do, because I go to my Father " ? Was it not 
abundantly fulfilled on the day of Pentecost ? Is it not 
still His will that Christians should receive the double 
portion of His Spirit? Does not the command, "Be 
filled with the Spirit," still stand on the page of 
Scripture, and apply to every servant of God ? 
If so, have you grasped the mantle ? 

F. S. WEBSTER. 

Perhaps we have all of us yet to fathom the mean- 
ing of the sentence in the creed, " I believe in the Holy 
Ghost." I am sure that we have no notion of what 

308 



Thoughts from My Library 



God could make us to be, and give us to have, and 
call us to do, and help us to learn, and enable us to 
suffer, and permit us to enjoy, if we would but try to 
understand our Lord's own words: "If ye then, be- 
ing evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
children; how much more shall your heavenly Father 
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him ?" What- 
ever hesitation there may be about our other prayers, 
there need be none with this. It is enjoined on us to 
"be filled with the Spirit." bowen. 

Servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the eph. 
heart. vL 6 - 

We must never forget that we are learning by doing 
God's will, and that His will does not all come to us 
out of a written Bible. Some of it comes fresh from 
God's own lips in our life's circumstances. In what- 
ever way it may come, we are to do it, and in doing it 
we will find a blessing. Hard tasks and duties are 
like nuts: they are rough and unsightly, and the hull is 
not easy to break; but when it is broken we find it full 
of rich meat. J. R. miller. 

Put on the whole armor of God. eph. 

In putting on your armor, don't forget that the sword VL 1 1 ' 
of the Spirit is the Word of God. Not content with 
merely reading your Bible, study it. Instead of skim- 
ming over whole acres of truth, put your spade into 
the most practical passages, and dig deep, cuyler. 

The shield of faith, wherewith ye shall he able to eph. 

quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. vi. 16. 

A shield is a piece of armor that soldiers were wont 
to carry with them into the field of battle; so is faith a 

309 



One Thousand and One 



part of the Christian's armor with which he fights in 
the soul's warfare. A shield is for defence; so is faith. 
A shield is not a fixture for any particular part of the 
body, as the breast-plate, the helmet, etc., but was for 
the hand, to be moved about according to the direction 
in which the darts came; so is faith a shield against 
the fiery darts of the wicked, coming to whatever part 
of the Christian they may. A shield doth not only de- 
fend the whole body, but it is a defence to other parts 
of a soldier's armor also; it keeps off the dart from the 
helmet and breastplate likewise: so faith is not only a 
safeguard to the whole soul, but to all the particular 
parts of the Christian life and character. The shield of 
faith protects the girdle of truth, the helmet of salva- 
tion, and the breastplate of righteousness. A shield 
hath been of wonderful advantage to soldiers of former 
times. What wonderful things can be said of faith as 
a shield in the hands of God's people in all ages! 

KEACH. 

eph. The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. 
L ! 7- It is said that at the coronation of the boy King of 
England, Edward VI., three swords were brought, and 
laid before him as emblems of his power. " Bring 
another," said he, " I need most of all the sword of the 
Spirit." The Bible was brought, and has retained its 
place in subsequent coronations. It is the only 
symbol used at the inauguration of our Republican 
Presidents. 

To me to live is Christ and to die is gain. 

You can write Paul's estimate of death after nothing 
but Paul's estimate of life. g. Campbell morgan. 



PHIL. 

i. 21. 



Thoughts from My Library 



To depart and to be with Christ. phil. 

The hour of death is to the Christian the birthday of L 2 3- 
endless life. macduff. 

Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospet of phil. 
Christ 1 2 7- 

We often miss our Lord's company, because our 
conversation does not please Him. When our Beloved 
goes down into His garden, it is to feed there and 
gather lilies; but if thorns and nettles are the only 
products of the soil, He will soon be away to the true 
beds of spices. spurgeon. 

Being of one accord. phil. 

When men were of one accord to make themselves 1L 2 * 
a name, God confounded their language; when they 
were of one accord to glorify Jesus, He gave them to 
speak with other tongues so that all could understand. 

He . . . became obedient unto death, even the phil. 
death of the cross; wherefore God . . . hath u -8>9« 
highly exalted him. 

The way to get rid of your cross is to die upon it; 
there is no other way. Jesus bore no cross in the 
resurrection. 

God hath . . . given him a name which is above phil. 
every name. 1L 9- 

Cast thine eyes which way thou wilt, and thou shalt 
hardly look on anything but Christ Jesus hath taken 
the name of that very thing upon himself. Is it day ? 
and dost thou behold the sun ? He is called the Sun of 
righteousness. Or is it night ? and dost thou behold 
the stars? He is called a star: "There shall cornea 

3^ 



One Thousand and One 



Star out of Jacob." Or is it morning ? and dost thou 
behold the morning-star ? He is called " the bright and 
Morning-Star." Or is it noon? and dost thou behold 
clear light all the world over ? He is ' 'that Light that 
lighteth every man that cometh into the world." 
Come a little nearer: if thou lookest on the earth, and 
takest a view of the creatures about thee, seest thou 
the sheep ? "As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, 
so He opened not His mouth." Or seest thou a lamb ? 
"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin 
of the world." Seest thou a shepherd watching over 
his flock ? "I am the good Shepherd, and know My 
sheep, and am known of Mine." Or seest thou a 
fountain, rivers, waters? He is called a fountain: 
"In that day there shall be a Fountain opened to the 
house of David." Or seest thou a tree good for food, 
or pleasant to the eye ? He is called "the Tree of life." 
Seest thou a rose, a lily, any fair flower in a garden ? 
He is "the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valley." 
To come a little nearer yet: art thou adorning thyself, 
and takest thou a view of thy garments ? He is a gar- 
ment: "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ." Art thou 
eating meat, and takest a view of what is on thy table ? 
He is the Bread of God; true Bread from heaven; the 
Bread of life. isaac Ambrose. 

Christ is a flower, but He fadeth not; He is a river, 
but He is never dry; He is a sun, but He knoweth no 
eclipse; He is all in all, but He is something more 
than all. spurgeon. 

phil. Work out your own salvation . . . for it is God 
• 12 > which worketh in you. 

I 2 

These two streams of truth are like the rain-shower 
312 



Thoughts from My Library 



that falls upon the water-shed of a country. The one- 
half flows down the one side of the everlasting hills, 
and the other down the other. Falling into rivers that 
water different continents, they at length find the sea, 
separated by the distance of half the globe. But the 
sea into which they fall is one, in every creek and 
channel. And so the truth into which these two ap- 
parent opposites converge is "the depth of the wis- 
dom and the knowledge of God," Whose ways are past 
finding out — the Author of all goodness, Who, if we 
have any holy thought, has given it us; if we have 
any true desire, has implanted it; has given us the 
strength to do the right and to live in His fear; and 
Who, yet, doing all the willing and the doing, says to 
us, "Because I do everything, therefore let not thy 
will be paralyzed or thy hand palsied ; but because I 
do everything, therefore will thou according to My 
will, and do thou according to My commandments!" 

MACLAREN. 

// is God which worketh in you to will and to do of phil. 

his good pleasure. h. \). 

There are several ways of working for God. We 
may make the wisest plans we can, and then carry 
them out to the best of our ability. This is perhaps 
better than working without any plan, but it is by no 
means the best way to serve our Master. 

Or, having carefully laid our plans and determined 
to carry them through, we may bring them to God, 
and ask Him to help and prosper us in connection 
with them. 

Yet another way is to begin with God, to ask His 
plans, and offer ourselves to Him to help in carrying 
them out. j. Hudson taylor. 

3*3 



One Thousand and One 



Phil. Do all things without murmurings. 

L ! 4- I have read of Caesar, that, having prepared a great 
feast for his nobles and friends, it so fell out, that the 
day appointed was so extremely foul, that nothing 
could be done to the honor of the meeting: whereupon 
he was so displeased and enraged, that he commanded 
all those that had bows to shoot up their arrows at 
Jupiter, their chief god, as in defiance of him for that 
rainy weather; which when they did, their arrows fell 
short of heaven, and fell upon their own heads, so 
that many of them were very sorely wounded. So all 
our murmurings, which are as so many arrows shot at 
God Himself, — they will return upon our own heads: 
they reach not Him; but they will hit us: they hurt 
not Him; but they will wound us. Therefore it is 
better to be mute than to murmur: it is dangerous to 
provoke a " consuming fire." f. brooks. 

phil. Rejoice in the Lord. 

llh l - It honors religion, it proclaims to the world we 
serve a good Master. Cheerfulness is a friend to 
grace: it puts the heart in tune to praise God. Un- 
cheerful Christians, like the spies, bring an evil report 
of the good land; others suspect there is something 
unpleasant in religion, that they who profess it hang 
their harps upon the willows, and walk so dejectedly. 
Be serious, yet cheerful. Rejoice in the Lord always. 

T. WATSON. 

phil. That I may win Christ. 

ii. 8. j n Wales and in Scotland, in the mining districts, 
" winning" the coal, or the mineral, is a common 
expression, by which they mean sinking a shaft deep 
down to get out the ore in richer abundance. Let us 

3M 



Thoughts from My Library 



take that idea. Paul, on the day when he first dis- 
covered Christ, found himself to be the possessor of a 
large estate. He was standing, so to speak, at the 
opening of this mine, and he saw some of the precious 
ore. He could not take his eye off what he did see; 
but, the more he looked, the more he discovered of 
the inexhaustible riches there. He had only to dig 
down, to sink his shaft in all directions, and there wa's 
no end to what he might bring up out of this mine; 
and so it was his lifetime's wish, "that I may win 
Christ." When he had got some of this ore, he was 
inflamed with a desire to get more. He would stand 
amid the heaps of his gold and say " That I may win 
Christ." bonar. 

/ am apprehended of Christ Jesus. phil. 

Is this your conception of your life? Captured! 11L I2, 
Apprehended by Jesus Christ! Set apart for Himself! 
Do you realize that you are bound by the most sacred 
fetters to your Conqueror, and are following His 
chariot through the earth ? Life would assume a new 
aspect if you realized this, and that all you are in your 
person, and own in your property, has become 
Emanuel's. f. b. meyer. 

This one thing I do. phil. 

Men may be divided into two classes, — those who 11L l 3- 
have a "one thing," and those who have no "one 
thing," to do; those with aim, and those without aim 
in their lives. . . . The aim in life is what the 
back-bone is to the body; without it we are inverte- 
brate. GANNETT. 

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are phil. 
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which hi. 13, 
315 M. 



One Thousand and One 



are before, I press toward the mark for the pri^e of 
the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 
Remembering always tends to become a substitute 



A heaven-born soul cannot without great peril be 
content to miss the smallest part of the Master's will 
or the heavenly prize. Oh, ye who have been linger- 
ing in the wilderness and pursuing the endless round 
of a half-consecrated life awake from the dream of 
perpetual babyhood, put off the swaddling bands and 
the infant robes of your childishness and "Leaving 
the first principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go 
on unto manhood." simpson. 

phil. Our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven. 

• 20 ' Although a wheel turneth about on the ground, yet 
the greatest part of it is always from the earth, and 
but little of it toucheth the ground: so, although our 
body be on earth, yet the conversation of the soul, 
which is the greater part of us, must be in heaven. 



to shine; and, of all the lights which you kindle on the 
face, joy will reach farthest out to sea, where troubled 
mariners are seeking the shore. Even in your deepest 
griefs, rejoice in God. As waves phosphoresce, let 
joys flash from the swing of the sorrows of your 

SOUls. BEECHER. 

phil. Be careful for nothing: but in everything by prayer 
iv. 6. and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests 
be made known unto God. 



As every sacrifice was to be seasoned with salt, so 



for doing. 



mclaren. 



phil. 
iv. 4. 




316 



Thoughts from My Library 



every undertaking and every affliction of the creature 
must be sanctified with prayer; nay, as it showeth the 
excellency of gold that it is laid upon silver itself, so it 
speaketh the excellency of prayer, that not only naiural 
and civil, but even religious and spiritual, actions are 
overlaid with prayer. We pray not only before we 
eat or drink our bodily nourishment, but also before 
we feed on the bread of the word and the bread in the 
sacrament. Prayer is requisite to make every provi- 
dence and every ordinance blessed to us; prayer is 
needful to make our particular callings successful. 
Prayer is the guard to secure the fort-royal of the 
heart; prayer is the porter to keep the door of the lips; 
prayer is the strong hilt which defendeth the hands; 
prayer perfumes every relation; prayer helps us to 
profit by every condition; prayer is the chemist that 
turns all into gold; prayer is the master-workman : if 
that be out of the way, the whole trade stands still, or 
goeth backward. What the key is to the watch, that 
prayer is to religion : it winds it up, and sets it going. 

SWINNOCK. 

The peace of God. phil. 

The peace of God is a heavenly tapestry woven in lv * 7 
heavenly looms, and brought down from above by the 
Holy Spirit, Who adorns with it the inmost being of 
all who have received and welcomed Himself, that He 
may show forth in them "the continued life of Jesus 
upon earth." 

Whatsoever things are true . . . pure . . . phil. 
think on these things. lY - % 

If we look down, then our shoulders stoop. If our 

thoughts look down, our character bends. It is only 

3i7 



One Thousand and One 



when we hold our heads up that the body becomes 
erect. It is only when our thoughts go up that our 
life becomes erect. Mckenzie. 

phil. / have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to he 
lv - 11 • content. 

He who realizes that he is where God wants him to 
be, and that he has what God wants him to have, will 
be contented with his lot and his store, whatever 
they are; but he who fails to realize this truth would 
never be contented though he were the most favored 
man in all the world. 

True contentment depends not upon what we have, 
but upon what we would have : a tub was large enough 
for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander. 

COLTON. 

phil. / can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth 
iv. 13. m6m 

O, do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger 
men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. 
Pray for powers equal to your tasks ! Then the doing 
of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a 
miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at 
the richness of life which has come in you by the 
grace of God. Phillips brooks. 

phil. My God shall supply all your need, according to his 
iv. 19. riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

What a source — " God! " What a standard — " His 
riches in glory!" What a channel — " Christ Jesus! " 
It is your sweet privilege to place all your need over 
against His riches, and lose sight of the former in the 
presence of the latter. His exhaustless treasury is 

3 i8 



Thoughts from My Library- 



thrown open to you, in all the love of His heart; go 
and draw upon it, in the artless simplicity of faith, and 
you will never have occasion to look to a creature- 
stream or lean on a creature-prop. c. h. Mcintosh. 

Wants are my best riches because I have these sup- 
plied by Christ. Rutherford. 

Being fruitful in every good work. col. 
Praying always with all prayer. — Eph. vi. 18. i. 10. 

Labor is of noble birth ; but prayer is the daughter 
of heaven. Labor has a place near the throne, but 
prayer touches the golden sceptre. Labor, Martha-like, 
is busy with much serving; but prayer sits with Mary 
at the feet of Jesus. Labor climbs the mountain-peak 
with Moses; but prayer soars upward, with Elijah, in 
a chariot of fire. Labor has the raven's wing, yet 
sometimes goes forth in vain; but prayer has the 
pinions of the dove, and never returns but with the 
olive-leaf of blessing ! w. h. groser. 

Increasing in the knowledge of God. col. 

Are we growing in the knowledge of what Christ is L I0 * 
to us? It is a happy life this; for it is not a mere 
self-emptying — it is a process of Christ-filling. 

In whom we have redemption through his blood, even col. 
the forgiveness of sins. i- M- 

I once saw the sweetest sight — a little, weary child 
falling asleep upon the grass, with a posy of flowers 
in its hand. By degrees the little fingers relaxed their 
hold, the little head drooped gently, the little eyelids 
closed, and the child slept. God grant that when I 
fall into my last sleep my poor fingers may have in 
them some posy, some sweet flowers! Is there any- 

3*9 



One Thousand and One 



thing in my little garden that I may hold in my hand 
when I come to die? Righteousness? Ah! that is a 
poor weed at its best. Genius ? What will that do 
for me in that sublime hour when the babe and the 
suckling have more knowledge of the things of God 
than the very wisest of this world. Great riches? 
Even the man of the world will laugh at you if you 
propose to hold those in your hand in the hour of 
death. . . . But there grows sometimes in the 
deep, shadowed part of a man's heart the sweetest 
flower — lowliness toward God; and another flower — 
humbleness toward man. But even that does not 
make a handful. When a man is sinking to his last 
sleep let him turn to the fullness of God. Then 
gathers he, if he be wise, the flower of forgiveness, 
the great passion-flower of God's love, the crown of 
thorns, the blood-red rose and the amaranth of the 
Eternal Realm. g. dawson. 

col. / also labor, striving according to his working which 

i. 29. worketh in me mightily. 

The more earnestly you are at work for Jesus, the 
more you need times when what you are doing for 
Him passes totally out of your mind, and the only 
thing worth thinking of seems to be what He is doing 
for you. That is the real meaning of the days of dis- 
couragement and self-contempt which come to all of 

US. PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

col. I n w hom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and 

ii. 3. knowledge. 

The science of Jesus Christ is the most excellent of 
sciences. Let no one turn away from the Bible be- 
cause it is not a book of learning and wisdom. It is. 

320 



Thoughts from My Library 



Would ye know astronomy? — it is here: it tells you 
of the Sun of Righteousness and the Star of Bethlehem. 
Would you know botany ? — it is here : it tells you of the 
plant of renown, — the Lily of the Valley and the Rose of 
Sharon. Would you know geology and mineralogy ? 
— you shall learn it here: for you may read of the Rock 
of Ages, and the White Stone with the name engraven 
thereon, which no man knoweth saving he that receiv- 
eth it. Would ye study history ? — here is the most an- 
cient of all the records of the history of the human race. 
Whatever your science is, come and bend over this 
book: your science is here. Come and. drink out of 
this fair fount of knowledge and wisdom, and ye shall 
find yourselves made wise unto salvation, spurgeon. 

In him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. CO l. 

And ye are complete in him. ii.9, 10. 

Give me ten thousand pounds, and one reverse of 
fortune may scatter it all away; but let me have a 
spiritual hold of this divine assurance, "The Lord is 
my shepherd, I shall not want," then I am all right. I 
am set up for life. I cannot break with such stock as 
this in hand. I never can be a bankrupt, for I hold 
this security, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not 
want." Do not give me ready money now; give me 
a check book and let me draw what I like. This is 
what God does with the believer. He does not im- 
mediately transfer his inheritance to him, but lets him 
draw what he needs out of the riches of His fullness 
in Christ Jesus. spurgeon. 

Set your affection on things above, not on things on col. 

the earth. iii. 2. 
The compass on board an iron vessel is very subject 
321 



One Thousand and One 



to aberrations; yet for all that, its evident desire is to 
be true to the pole. True hearts in this wicked world, 
and in this fleshly body, are all too apt to swerve, but 
still they show their inward and persistent tendency 
to point toward heaven and God. On board iron ves- 
sels it is a common thing to see the compass placed 
aloft, to be as far away from the cause of aberration 
as possible: a wise hint to us to elevate our affections 
and desires; the nearer to God, the less swayed by 
worldly influences. spurgeon. 

col. Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 

[lm 3- Live in Christ and you are in the suburbs of heaven. 
There is but a thin wall between you and the land of 
praises. Ye are within one hour's sailing of the shore 
of the new Canaan. rutherford. 

It is impossible that Satan can touch this life, either 
in its source, its channel, its power, its sphere, or its 
duration. God is its source; a risen Christ, its chan- 
nel; the Holy Ghost, its power; heaven, its sphere; 
and eternity, its duration. 

An established, experienced, hopeful Christian is in 
the world, like an iceberg in a swelling sea. The 
waves rise and fall. Ships strain and shiver, and nod 
on the agitated waters. But the iceberg may be seen 
from far, receiving the breakers on its snow-white 
sides, casting them off unmoved, and, where all else is 
rocking to and fro, standing stable like the everlasting 
hills. The cause of its steadiness is its depth. Its 
bulk is bedded in calm water beneath the tumult that 
rages on the surface. Although, like the ships, it is 
floating in the water, it receives and throws off the 
angry waves like the rocks that gird the shore. Be- 

322 



Thoughts from My Library- 



hold the condition and attitude of Christians! They 
float in the same sea of life with other men, and bear 
the same bufferings; but they are not driven hither 
and thither, the sport of wind and water. The wave 
strikes them, breaks over them, and hisses past in 
foam; but they remain unmoved. They were not 
caught by surprise while they had a slight hold of the 
surface. The chief part of their being lies deep be- 
yond the reach of these superficial commotions. Their 
life, "hid with Christ, in God," bears without break- 
ing all the strain of the storm. arnot. 

Christ . . . our life. col. 

To be in Christ is the secret of our life. m * 4- 
To be for Christ is the meaning of our activity. 
To be with Christ is the hope of our glory. 

BISHOP THOROLD. 

Christ is all, and in all. col. 
The service of Christ is the business of my life. 11L 1 1 ' 
The will of Christ is the law of my life. 
The presence of Christ is the joy of my life. 
The glory of Christ is the crown of my life. 

If thou endurest wrong for Christ's sake, He is a re- 
venger; if sorrow, He is a comforter; if sickness, He 
is a physician; if loss, He is a restorer; if life, He is 
a reviver. tertullian. 

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. col. 

Years ago one of our fleets was terribly shattered by a m - 1 5- 
violent gale. It was found that some of the ships were 
unaffected by its violence. They were in, what the 
mariners call "the eye of the storm." While all around 
was desolation, they were safe. So it is with him who 
has the peace of God in his heart. pilkington. 



One Thousand and One 



col. Whatsoever ye do, . . . do all in the name of the 
l l- Lord Jesus. 

My Real is not my Ideal — is that my complaint? 
One thing at least is in my power: if I cannot realize 
my Ideal I can at least idealise my Real. How ? By 
trying to be perfect in it. gannett. 

There is some act that you are questioning about. 
Jf Jesus were at hand, you would go out and ask Him, 
"Is it Thy will that I should do it, O my Lord?" 
Can you not ask Him now ? Is the act right ? Would 
He do it ? Will it help your soul ? It is not often that 
a man really is in doubt who seriously wants to know 
the answer to any of these questions. And if the an- 
swer to them all is, "Yes," then it is just as truly His 
command that you should do that act as if His gra- 
cious figure stood before your sight and His finger 
visibly pointed to the task. Phillips brooks. 

There is an old legend of an enchanted cup filled 
with poison, and put treacherously into a king's hand. 
He signed the sign of the cross, and named the name 
of God over it, and it shivered in his grasp. Do you 
take this name of the Lord as a test. Name Him over 
many a cup which you are eager to drink of, and the 
glittering fragments will lie at your feet, and the poison 
be spilled on the ground. What you cannot lift before 
His pure eyes and think of Him while you enjoy, is 
not for you. McLaren. 

col. Whatsoever ye do, do it . . . to the Lord. 
2 3- In every act consciously and devoutly done for God's 
sake, God gives Himself to the soul and feeds it; in 
the act, not after it and in reward of it, but in it. 

PHILLIPS BROOKS. 

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Thoughts from My Library 



Continue in prayer. col. 

Our prayers often resemble the mischievous tricks lv * 2 * 
of town children, who knock at their neighbor's houses 
and then run away; we often knock at heaven's door 
and then run off into the spirit of the world; instead 
of waiting for entrance and answer, we act as if we 
were afraid of having our prayers answered. 

WILLIAMS. 

Prayerless work will soon slacken, and never bear 
fruit. McLaren. 

Study to be quiet and to do your own business. i thes. 

Morning by morning God's great mercy of sunrise lv * llm 
steals upon a darkened world in still, slow self-impar- 
tation; and the light which has a force that has carried 
it across gulfs of space that the imagination staggers 
in trying to conceive, yet falls so gently that it does 
not move the petals of a sleeping flower, nor hurt the 
lids of an infant's eyes, nor displace a grain of dust. 
So should we live and work, clothing all our power in 
tenderness, doing our work in quietness, disturbing 
nothing but the darkness, and with silent increase of 
beneficent power filling and flooding the dark earth 
with healing beams. maclaren. 

It is with narrow-souled people as with narrow- 
necked bottles, — the less they have in them, the more 
noise they make in pouring out. pope. 

Ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. i thes. 

The heathen sorrowed without hope. A shattered lv - l 3* 
pillar; a ship gone to pieces; a race lost; a harp lying 
on the ground with snapped strings, with all its music 
lost; a flower-bud crushed with all its fragrance in it, 

325 



One Thousand and One 



— these were the sad utterances of their hopeless grief. 
The thought that death was the gate of life came not 
in to cheer the parting, or brighten the sepulchre. 

BONAR. 

i thes. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a 
iv. 1 6. shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the 
trump of God. 

Did you ever hear the sound of the trumpets which 
are blown before the judges as they come into a city 
to open the assizes ? Did you ever reflect how dif- 
ferent are the feelings which those trumpets awaken 
in the minds of different men ? The innocent man, 
who has no cause to be tried, hears them unmoved. 
They proclaim no terrors to him. He listens and looks 
on quietly, and is not afraid. But often there is some 
poor wretch waiting his trial, in a silent cell, to whom 
those trumpets are a knell of despair. They tell him 
that the day of trial is at hand. Yet a little time, and 
he will stand at the bar of justice, and hear witness 
after witness telling the story of his misdeeds. Yet a 
little time and all will be over, — the trial, the verdict, 
the sentence; and there will remain nothing for him 
but punishment and disgrace. No wonder the pris- 
oner's heart beats when he hears the trumpet's sound! 
So shall the sound be of the archangel's trump. 

RYLE. 

i thes. Be patient toward all. 

v - ! 4- Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects 
and infirmities of others, of what sort soever they be; 
for that thyself also hast many failings which must be 
borne with by others. How seldom we weigh our 
neighbor in the same balance with ourselves. 

THOMAS A KEMPIS. 

326 



Thoughts from My Library 



Pray without ceasing. i thes. 

Life is a constant want, therefore it should be a con- v * l 7' 
stant prayer. 

Quench not the Spirit. i thes. 

In order that you may not quench the Spirit, you v * ! 9- 
must make it a constant study to know what is the 
mind of the Spirit. You must discriminate with the 
utmost care between His suggestions and the sugges- 
tions of your own deceitful heart. You must be on 
your guard against impulsive movements, inconsider- 
ate acts, rash words. You must abide in prayer. 
Search the Word. Confess Christ on all possible oc- 
casions. Seek the society of His people. Shrink from 
conformity to the world, its vain fashions, unmeaning 
etiquette. Be scrupulous in your reading. "Watch 
and pray." Have oil in your lamps. " Quench not the 
Spirit." bowen. 

The very God of peace sanctify you wholly. i thes. 

It is much more easy to profess holiness in a general v ' 2 3' 
way, than to carry it out in particulars; and I fear that 
many talk familiarly of sanctification in the lump, who 
know but little of it in the piece. ryle. 

Be not weary in well doing. n thes. 

When the battle of Corioli was being won through 11L ! 3- 
the stimulus given to the soldiers by the impassioned 
vigor of Caius Marcius, they mourned to see their 
leader covered with wounds and blood. They begged 
him to retire to the camp, but with characteristic 
bravery he exclaimed, "It is not for conquerors to be 
tired!" and joined them in prosecuting the victory to 
its brilliant end. Such language might well become 

3 2 1 



One Thousand and One 



the Christian warrior. He is tempted to lie down and 
rest before the conquest is complete and the triumph 
thoroughly achieved. But his conquests should but 
stir him with a holy zeal and fire him with a sublime 
courage, that he may be faithful unto death, and then 
receive a crown of life. 

i tim. Charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, 
i' 5- and of faith unfeigned. 

In the Cathedral of St. Mark, in Venice — a marvel- 
lous building, lustrous with an Oriental splendor far 
beyond description — there are pillars said to have been 
brought from Solomon's Temple; these are of alabas- 
ter, a substance firm and durable as granite, and yet 
transparent, so that the light glows through them. 
Behold an emblem of what all true pillars of the 
Church should be — firm in their faith, and transparent 
in their character; men of simple mould, ignorant of 
tortuous and deceptive ways, and yet men of strong 
will, not readily to be led aside or bent from their up- 
rightness. SPURGEON. 

I tim. Who gave himself a ransom for all. 

ii. 6. j ews would not willingly tread upon the small- 

est piece of paper in their way, but took it up; for 
possibly, said they, the name of God may be on it. 
Though there was a little superstition in that, yet 
much good may be learned from it, if we apply it to 
\ men. Trample not on any: there may be some work 
of grace there that thou knowest not of. The name 
of God may be written upon that soul thou treadest 
on; it may be a soul that Christ thought so much of as 
to give His precious blood for it: therefore despise it 

not. LEIGHTON. 

328 



Thoughts from My Library 



Be thou an example of the believers. i tim. 

Be such a man and live such a life that if every man lv ' I2# 
were such as you and every life such as yours this 
earth would be Paradise. 

Be what you wish others to become. Let yourself, 
and not your words, preach for you. amiel. 

Meditate upon these things : give thyself wholly to i tim. 
them ; that thy profiting may appear to all. * v - I 5- 

Meditation is a going up into the mount of the Lord, 

into its ampler air, where earth recedes and sinks into 

the mists, and God comes down to talk with us, and 

to make His goodness pass before us. 

MARK GUY PEARSE. 

Follow after . . . patience. i tim. 

Impatient people water their miseries and hoe up VL 11 ' 
their comforts; sorrows are visitors that come with- 
out invitation, but complaining minds send a wagon 
to bring their troubles home in. spurgeon. 

Life . . . in Christ Jesus. n tim. 

A Christian lives in two worlds at one and the same L *• 
time — the world of flesh and the world of Spirit. It 
is possible to do both. There are certain dangerous 
gases, which from their weight fall to the lower part 
of the place where they are, making it destructive for 
a dog to enter, but safe for a man who holds his head 
erect. A Christian, as living in the world of flesh, is 
constantly passing through these. Let him keep his 
head erect in the spiritual world, and he is safe. He 
does this so long as the Son of God is the fountain 
whence he draws his inspiration, his motives, encour- 
agement, and strength. george philip. 

329 



One Thousand and One 



ii tim. Stir up the gift of God, which is in thee. 
L ^' The fire within us needs constant stirring, as well as 
feeding, to keep it bright. ryle. 

ii tim. / know whom I have believed. 

i- I2 - Personal acquaintance with Christ is a living thing, 
like a tree that uses every hour for growth. It thrives 
in sunshine, it is refreshed by rain — even the storm 
drives it to fasten its grip more firmly in the earth for 
its support. So, troubled heart, in all experience, say, 
"This comes that I may make closer acquaintance 
with my Lord." 

A soldier lay dying in the hospital, in terrible agony. 
A visitor asked him, "What church are you of?" — 
"Of the church of Christ," he replied. "I mean of 
what persuasion are you?" — "Persuasion," said the 
dying man, as his eyes looked heavenward, beaming 
with love to the Saviour, — "I am persuaded that nei- 
ther death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able 
to separate me from the love of God which is in 
Christ Jesus." 

ii tim. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 
n - l - Grace is the ladder to glory, and on every step of it 
man must die to self or he can never reach its summit. 

F. WHITFIELD. 

ii tim. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of 
n - 3- Jesus Christ. 

Of all work that produces results, nine-tenths must 
be drudgery. bishop of exeter. 

Do not let the warmth by the camp-fire, or the 
330 



Thoughts from My Library 



pleasantness of the shady place where your tent is 
pitched, keep you there when the cloud lifts. Be 
ready for change, be ready for continuance, because 
you are in fellowship with your Leader and Com- 
mander; and let Him say, Go, and you go; Do this, 
and you gladly do it, until the hour when He will 
whisper, Come; and^ as you come, the river will part, 
and the journey will be over. And "the fiery, cloudy 
pillar," that "guided you all your journey through," 
will spread itself out an abiding glory, in that higher 
home where "the Lamb is the light thereof." 

mclaren. 

It is the daily drill which makes the battle hero. 

PUNSHON. 

If we suffer we shall also reign within him. n tim. 

The highest bidder for the crown of glory is the 1L I2 - 
lowliest bearer of the cross of self-denial. 

A. J. GORDON. 

Bless God for the wilderness; thank God for the 
long nights; be thankful that you have been in the 
school of poverty and have undergone the searching 
and testing of much discipline. Take the right view 
of your trials. You are nearer heaven for the graves 
you have dug if you have accepted bereavements in 
the right spirit; you are wiser for the losses you have 
bravely borne, you are nobler for all the sacrifices you 
have willingly completed. Sanctified affliction is an 
angel that never misses the gate of heaven. 

JOSEPH PARKER. 

The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, n tim. 
The Lord knoweth them that are his, ii. 19. 

This is said with reference to some that appear unto 
33 1 



One Thousand and One 



men to be the children of God and afterward fall away. 
Christians have no promise that they shall be kept 
from misconception on this point; and they are some- 
times greatly shocked to find the court of God's house 
strewn with columns. God is the architect of His 
temple, and is cognizant of His own plans; He allows 
stones and pillars to be placed in the edifice which He 
knows do not permanently belong to it; but for the 
places they temporarily occupy, there are other ma- 
terials known to Him; and no chasms, no unlovely 
vacancies shall after all appear. Let this console us. 
The Lord knoweth them that are His. These pseudo- 
Christians that figure for a while upon the platform, 
and then pass away in the whirlwind of sin, amid the 
triumphs of a scoffing world, were never known to 
Him for anything but what they really were. 

BOWEN. 

ii tim. Having a form of godliness. 

m * 5- I was walking one day in Westminster Abbey. As 
I paused to survey the monuments of the illustrious 
departed that are gathered there, my attention was 
arrested by the appearance of the pavement near to 
where I stood. A beautiful many-colored light rested 
upon it, and gave it an aspect that I could not but 
linger to behold. The cause was apparent. A 
painted window above me explained the reason. And 
the pavement, beautiful as it appeared, had no color 
in itself : it was the window above that gave it the 
beauteous hue. How many are like that pavement! 
they appear beautiful, and we are apt to mistake it for 
"the beauty of holiness " ; but it is in a borrowed light, 
— contact with the wise and good it may be: remove 
that, and their true color appears. 

33* 



Thoughts from My Library 



The time will come when they will not endure sound n TIM. 
doctrine. i y - 3- 

Well-bred people now do not talk about "the 
world, the flesh, and the devil"; they speak of "en- 
vironment, heredity, and circumstances." 

/ have fought a good fight. n tim. 

In early times in America when writing for a minis- lv * 7- 
ter to go out west the message was "Send us one 
who can swim." The question was asked what was 
meant by such a request as that. The reply came, 
"The last man we had, in order to keep an appoint- 
ment, had to cross a fierce, rushing stream, and he 
was drowned in the attempt. Send us a man who 
can swim." talmage. 

They profess that they know God ; but in works they tit. 

deny him. i- 16. 

Religion is the best armor a man can have, but it is 
the worst cloak. bunyan. 

Zealous of good works. tit. 

If we travel slowly, and loiter on the road, Jesus 1L ! 4- 
will go on before us, and sin will overtake us. If we 
are dilatory and lazy in the vineyard, the Master will 
not smile on us when He walks through His garden. 
Be active, and expect Christ to be with thee: be idle, 
and the thorns and briers will grow so thickly, that 
He will be shut out of thy door. spurgeon. 

God . . . hath in these last days spoken unto us heb. 

by his Son. i. i, 2. 

An old writer says, "God in the types of the last 
dispensation, was teaching His children their letters. 

333 



One Thousand and One 



In this dispensation He is teaching them to put these 
letters together, and they find that the letters, arrange 
them as we will, spell Christ, and nothing but Christ." 

heb. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh 
• ! 4- and Mood, he also himself likewise took part of the 
same; that through death he might destroy him that 
had the power of death, that is, the devil. 
I like these words exceedingly; they present a desir- 
able view of matters — the children at the top, Christ in 
the middle, and the devil at the bottom. 

heb. He is able to succor them that are tempted. 

' I see the unclean spirit rising like a winged dragon, 

circling in the air, and seeking for a resting-place. 
Casting his fiery glances toward a certain neighbor- 
hood, he spies a young man in the bloom of life, and 
rejoicing in his strength, seated on the front of his 
cart, going for lime. "There he is!" said the old 
dragon: " his veins are full of blood, and his bones of 
marrow; I will throw into his bosom sparks from 
hell; I will set all his passions on fire; I will lead him 
from bad to worse, until he shall perpetrate every sin; 
I will make him a murderer, and his soul shall sink, 
never again to rise, in the lake of fire." By this time, 
I see it descend, with a fell swoop, toward the earth; 
but, nearing the youth, the dragon heard him sing, 

"Guide me, O thou great Jehovah ! 
Pilgrim through this barren land : 
I am weak, but Thou art mighty ; 
Hold me with Thy powerful hand. 
Strong Deliverer, 
Be Thou still my strength and shield." 

"A dry, dry place, this," says the dragon; and away 
he goes. But I see him again hovering about in the 

334 



Thoughts from My Library- 



air, and casting about for a suitable resting-place. 
Beneath his eye there is a flowery meadow, watered 
by a crystal stream ; and he descries among the kine a 
maiden, about eighteen years of age, picking up here 
and there a beautiful flower. "There she is!" says 
Apollyon, intent upon her soul: "I will poison her 
thoughts; she shall stray from the paths of virtue; she 
shall think evil thoughts, and become impure; she 
shall become a lost creature in the great city, and, at 
last, I will cast her down from the precipice into ever- 
lasting burnings. " Again he took his downward flight ; 
but he no sooner came near the maiden, than he heard 
her sing the following words, with a voice that might 
have melted the rocks : 

" Other refuge have I none ; 

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee : 
Leave, ah! leave me not alone ; 
Still support and comfort me." 

" This place is too dry for me," says the dragon; and 
off he flies. Now he ascends from the meadow, like 
some great balloon, but very much enraged, and 
breathing forth "smoke and fire," and threatening 
ruin and damnation to all created things. " I will 
have a place to dwell in," he says, " in spite of decree, 
covenant, or grace." As he was thus speaking, he 
beheld a woman, "stricken in years," busy with her 
spinning-wheel at her cottage-door. "Ah, I see!" 
says the dragon: "she is ripe for destruction; she 
shall know the bitterness of the wail which ascends 
from the burning marl of hell! " He forthwith alights 
on the roof of her cot; when he hears the old woman 
repeat with trembling voice, but with heavenly feeling, 
the words, "For the mountains shall depart, and the 
hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart 

335 



One Thousand and One 



from thee." " This place is too dry for me," says the 
dragon; and away he goes again. . . . "In 
yonder cottage lies old William, slowly wasting away. 
He has borne the heat and the burden, and altogether 
has had a hard life of it. He has very little reason to 
be thankful for the mercies he has received, and has 
not found serving God a very profitable business: I 
know I can get him to 'curse God and die.'" Thus 
musing, away he flew to the sick man's bedside; but, 
as he listened, he heard the words, "Though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear 
no evil, for Thou art with me: Thy rod and Thy staff, 
they comfort me." Mortified and enraged, the dragon 
took his flight, saying, "I will return to the place 
from whence I came." Christmas evans. 

. HEB - We which have believed do enter into rest. 
iv 3 

' J ' There is a rest that is given, a rest that is found, 
and a rest that remaineth to the people of God. The 
first brings relief to the troubled conscience, the second 
to the troubled heart, and the third brings to the be- 
liever the fullness of joy that is in the presence of the 
Lord, the pleasures that are at His right hand forever- 
more. The first is directly connected with the Son as 
the Saviour of sinners; the second is more immediately 
related to the Holy Spirit as our abiding Comforter; 
and the third is associated with the " Father's house," 
in which "are many mansions." 

heb. There remaineth . . . a rest to the people of 
iv -9- God. 

How sweet the music of this first heavenly chime 
floating across the waters of death from the towers of 
the new Jerusalem! Pilgrim, faint under thy long 

336 



Thoughts from My Library 



and arduous pilgrimage, hear it! It is rest. Soldier, 
carrying still upon thee the blood and dust of battle, 
hear it! It is rest. Voyager, tossed on the waves of 
sin and sorrow, driven hither and thither on the 
world's heaving ocean of vicissitude, hear it! The 
haven is in sight; the very waves that are breaking on 
the shore seem to murmur — So giveth He His beloved 
rest. It is the long-drawn sigh of existence at last 
answered. The toil and travail of earth's protracted 
week is at an end. The calm of its unbroken Sabbath 
is begun. Man, weary man, has found at last the 
long sought-for rest in the bosom of his God. 

MACDUFF. 

O weary sons and daughters of Adam ! you will not 
have to drive the ploughshare into the unthankful soil 
in heaven; you will not need to rise to daily toils be- 
fore the sun hath risen, and labor still when the sun 
hath long ago gone to his rest: but ye shall be still, ye 
shall be quiet, ye shall rest yourselves. Toil, trouble, 
travail, and labor are words that cannot be spelled in 
heaven: they have no such things there; for they 
always rest. spurgeon. 

The word of God is . . . sharper than any two- heb. 

edged sword. iv. 12. 

Cling to the whole Bible, not a part of it. A man 
is not going to do much with a broken sword. 

MOODY. 

He . . . was in all points templed like as we are, heb. 

yet without sin. iv. 15. 

All the saints must go to the proving house; God 
had one Son without sin, but He never had a son 
without trial. spurgeon. 

331 



One Thousand and One 

Let us . . . come boldly unto the throne of grace 
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in 
time of need. 

However early in the morning you seek the gate of 
access, you find it already open, and however deep the 
midnight moment when you find yourself in the sud- 
den arms of death, the winged prayer can bring an 
instant Saviour; and this wherever you are. It needs 
not that you ascend some special Pisgah or Moriah. 
It needs not that you should enter some awful shrine, 
or pull off your shoes on some holy ground. Could a 
memento be reared on every spot from which an 
acceptable prayer has passed away, and on which a 
prompt answer has come down, we should find 
Jehovah Shammah, "the Lord hath been here," in- 
scribed on many a cottage hearth, and many a dungeon 
floor. We should find it not only in Jerusalem's proud 
temple and David's cedar galleries, but in the fisher- 
man's cottage by the brink of the Gennesaret, and in 
the upper chamber where Pentecost began. And 
whether it be the field where Isaac went down to 
meditate, or the rocky knoll where Israel wrestled, or 
the den where Daniel gazed on the hungry lions, and 
the lions gazed on him, or the hillside where the Man 
of Sorrows prayed all night we should still discern the 
ladder's feet let down from heaven — the landing place 
of mercies, because the starting place of prayer. 

J. HAMILTON. 

Dead works. 

Dead works are those which do not spring from the 
life-giving principle of faith. 

338 



HEB. 

vi. 1. 



Thoughts from My Library 



Hope . . . an anchor of the soul, both sure and heb. 

steadfast. vi. 19. 

On the margin of the ocean that surrounds and laves 
our island home, an object of absorbing interest may 
often be observed, — a ship riding at anchor near a lee 
shore in an angry sea. She has drifted, ere she was 
aware, too near a rockbound coast; the wind is blow- 
ing direct on shore; there is not room to tack; whether 
she should point her prow north or south, she will 
strike a projecting headland ere she can escape from 
the bay. One resource remains, — to anchor where she 
is till the wind change. There she lies. Stand on this 
height and look down upon her through the drifting 
spray. I scarcely know in nature a more interesting 
or suggestive sight. The ship is dancing on the waves ; 
she appears to be in their power and at their mercy. 
Wind and water combine to make her their sport. 
Destruction seems near; for if the vessel's hull is 
dashed by these waves upon the rocks of the coast, it 
will be broken into a thousand pieces. But you have 
stood and looked on the scene awhile, and the ship 
still holds her own. Although at first sight she seemed 
the helpless plaything of the elements, they have not 
overcome — they have not gained upon her yet. She is 
no nearer destruction than when you first began to 
gaze in anticipation of her fate. The ship seems to 
have no power to resist the onset of wind and wave. 
She yields to every blast and every billow. This mo- 
ment she is tossed aloft on the crest of a wave, and 
the next she sinks heavily into the hollow. Now her 
prow goes down beneath an advancing breaker, and 
she is lost to view in the spray; but anon she emerges, 
like a sea-fowl shaking the water from her wings and 

339 



One Thousand and One 



rejoicing in the tumult. As she quivered and nodded 
giddily at each assault, you thought, when first you 
arrived in sight, that every moment would prove her 
last; but now that you have watched the conflict long, 
it begins to assume in your mind another aspect, and 
promise another end. These motions of the ship now, 
instead of appearing the sickly movements of the 
dying, seem to indicate the calm, confident persever- 
ance of conscious strength and expected victory. Let 
winds and waves do their worst, that ship will meet 
them fearless, will hold her head to the blast, and 
maintain her place in defiance of their power. What 
is the secret of that ship's safety ? No other ship is in 
sight to which she may cling; no pillar stands within 
reach to which she may be moored. The bond of her 
security is a line that is unseen. The ship is at anchor. 
The line on which she hangs does not depend on the 
waters, or anything that floats there; it goes through 
the waters, and fastens on a sure ground beyond them. 
The soul, considered as a passenger on the treacherous 
sea of Time, needs an anchor; and an anchor " sure 
and steadfast" is provided for the needy soul. 

ARNOT. 

heb. He ever Uveth. 

vii. 25. Many reformations have expired with the reformer. 

But our Great Reformer " ever liveth " to carry on His 
reformation. 

heb. See . . . that thou make alt things according to 

viii. 5. the pattern shewed to thee in the mount 

God never gives a man a pattern without making 
Himself responsible for the provision of all materials 
needed for its execution. Take God's plan, and then 

3AO 



Thoughts from My Library 



trust God utterly for the needful grace; it is there; it 
only awaits the claim of your faith. All things are 
added to the man who seeks first and only the king- 
dom of God. If the materials are not forthcoming, 
you may seriously question whether you are not work- 
ing on a plan of your own. God will not provide for 
a single tassel of your own addition to His scheme. 

F. B. MEYER. 

From henceforth expecting till Ms enemies be made his heb. 

footstool. x. 13. 

The wrath of man shall praise God. I believe the 
last song of the redeemed, when they shall ultimately 
triumph, will celebrate in heavenly stanzas the wrath 
of man overcome by God. Sometimes, after great 
battles, monuments are raised to the memory of the 
fight; and of what are they composed? They are 
composed of weapons of death and of instruments of 
war which have been taken from the enemy. Now, 
to use that illustration, as I think it may be properly 
used, the day is coming when fury and wrath and 
hatred and strife shall all be woven into a song; and 
the weapons of our enemies, when taken from them, 
shall serve to make monuments to the praise of God. 
Rail on, rail on, blasphemer! Smite on, smite on, 
tyrant! Lift thy heavy hand, O despot! Crush the 
truth, which thou canst not crush; knock from His 
head the crown, — the crown that is far above thy 
reach, poor, puny, impotent mortal as thou art! Go 
on, go on! But all thou doest shall but increase His 
glories. For aught we care, we bid you still proceed 
with all your wrath and malice. Though it shall be 
worse for you, it shall be more glorious for our Mas- 
ter: the greater your preparations for war, the more 

34i 



One Thousand and One 



splendid shall be His triumphal chariot when He shall 
ride through the streets of heaven in pompous array. 
The more mighty your preparations for battle, the 
more rich the spoil Which He shall divide with the 
strong. O Christian, fear not the foe! Remember, 
the harder his blows, the sweeter thy song; the greater 
his wrath, the more splendid thy triumph; the more 
he rages, the more shall Christ be honored in the day 
of His appearing. spurgeon. 

heb. Having . . . boldness to enter into the holiest by 

• l 9- the blood of Jesus. 

The Holy Ghost . . . shall teach you all things. — 
John xiv. 26. 

This is our title to enter. Our capacity to worship, 
when we have entered, will depend upon our spiritual 
energy. Christ is our title. The Holy Spirit is our 
capacity. Self has nothing to do with either the one 
or the other. What a mercy! We get in by the blood 
of Jesus; we enjoy what we find there by the Holy 
Spirit. The blood of Jesus opens the door; the Holy 
Spirit conducts us through the house. The blood of 
Jesus opens the casket; the Holy Spirit unfolds the 
precious contents. The blood of Jesus makes the 
casket ours; the Holy Spirit enables us to appreciate 
its rare and costly gems. c. h. Mcintosh. 

heb. Having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of 

• *9> fesus . . . let us draw near with a true heart. 
22 

Oh, the glory of the message! For fifteen centuries 
Israel had a sanctuary with a Holiest of All, into which, 
under pain of death, no one might enter. Its one wit- 
ness was: Man cannot dwell in God's presence; can- 
not abide in His fellowship. And now how changed 

342 



Thoughts from My Library 



is all! As then the warning sounded: "No admit- 
tance! enter not! " so now the call goes forth: "Enter 
in! the veil is rent; the Holiest is open; God waits to 
welcome you to His bosom; henceforth you are to 
live with Him." This is the message. Child! thy 
Father longs for thee to enter, to dwell, and to go out 
no more forever. Andrew Murray. 

Let us draw near . . . in full assurance of faith, heb. 

Faith, let us remember, is the root, and assurance is x - 22 - 
the flower. Doubtless you can never have the flower 
without the root; but it is no less certain you may 
have the root and not the flower. Faith is that poor 
trembling woman who came behind Jesus in the press, 
and touched the hem of His garment; Assurance is 
Stephen standing calmly in the midst of his murderers, 
and saying, "I see the heavens opened, and the Son 
of man standing on the right hand of God." Faith is 
the penitent thief, crying, " Lord, remember me ;" As- 
surance is Job sitting in the dust, covered with sores, 
and saying, "I know that my Redeemer liveth"; 
"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." Faith 
is Peter's drowning cry, as he began to sink, "Lord, 
save me! " Assurance is that same Peter declaring be- 
fore the council, in after-times, "This is the stone 
which was set at naught by you builders, which is be- 
come the head of the corner. Neither is there salva- 
tion in any other; for there is none other name under 
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." 
Faith is the anxious, trembling voice, " Lord, I believe; 
help Thou mine unbelief;" Assurance is the confident 
challenge, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of 
God's elect? Who is he that condemneth ?" Faith is 

343 



One Thousand and One 



Saul praying in the house of Judas at Damascus, sor- 
rowful, blind, and alone; Assurance is Paul, the aged 
prisoner, looking calmly into the grave, and saying, 
"I know whom I have believed. There is a crown 
laid up for me." Faith is life. How great the bless- 
ing! Who can tell the gulf between life and death? 
And yet life may be weak, sickly, unhealthy, painful, 
trying, anxious, worn, burdensome, joyless, smileless 
to the very end. Assurance is more than life. It is 
health, strength, power, vigor, activity, energy, man- 
liness, beauty. ryle. 

heb. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith. 
x - 2 3- Faith is the cable which binds our boat to the shore, 
and by pulling at it we draw ourselves to the land; 
faith unites us to God, and then draws us near to Him. 

SPURGEON. 

heb. He is faithful that promised. 
x. 23. 1 would sooner walk in the dark and hold hard to a 
promise of my God, than trust in the light of the 
brightest day that ever dawned. spurgeon. 

heb. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy : of 
x. 28, how much sorer punishment . . . shall he be 
2 9- thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the 
Son of God ? 

Disheartened by the extraordinary dangers and diffi- 
culties of their enterprise, a Roman army lost courage, 
and resolved on a retreat. The general reasoned with 
his soldiers. Expostulating with them, he appealed to 
their love of country, to their honor, and to their oaths. 
By all that could revive a fainting heart he sought to 
animate their courage and shake their resolution. 

344 



Thoughts from My Library 



Much they trusted, they admired, they loved him ; but 
his appeals were all in vain. They were not to be 
moved; and, carried away, as by a panic, they faced 
round to retreat. At this juncture they were forcing a 
mountain-pass, and had just cleared a gorge where 
the road, between two stupendous rocks on one side 
and the foaming river on the other, was but a foot- 
path, broad enough for the step of a single man. As 
a last resort, he laid himself down there, saying, "If 
you will retreat, it is over this body you go, tramping 
me to death beneath your feet." No foot advanced. 
The flight was arrested. His soldiers could face the 
foe, but not mangle beneath their feet one who loved 
them, and had often led their ranks to victory, sharing 
like a common soldier all the hardships of the cam- 
paign, and ever foremost in the fight. The sight was 
one to inspire them with decision. Hesitating no 
longer to advance, they wheeled round to resume 
their march; deeming it better to meet sufferings, and 
endure even death itself, than to trample under foot 
their devoted and patriotic leader. Their hearts re- 
coiled from such an outrage. But for such as have 
named the name of Christ not to depart from iniquity, 
for such as have enlisted under His banner to go back 
to the world, for such as have renounced sin to return 
to its pleasures, involves a greater crime. A more 
touching spectacle bars our return. Jesus, as it were, 
lays Himself down on our path; nor can any become 
backsliders, and return to the practice and pleasure of 
sin, without tramping Him under their feet. 

GUTHRIE. 

Ye endured a great figh t of afflictions. heb. 
There is a way in which the lapidary tells whether a x * 3 2 « 
345 



One Thousand and One 



diamond is genuine or not. He breathes on it, and if 
the breath linger there, it is a false diamond; if the 
breath immediately vanish, it is a real diamond. Then 
he has the grinding process afterward, if the first fail. 
So you can tell God's jewel. If the breath of tempta- 
tion comes on it, and soon vanishes, it is a real dia- 
mond; if that breath lingers, and continues to blur it, 
it is a false diamond. But better than all is the grind- 
ing machine of affliction. If a soul can go through 
that and keep bright, it is one of God's jewels. 

TALMAGE. 

heb. The just shall live by faith. 

Faith links us to eternal life; obedience keeps the 
life full. c. 1. SCOFIELD. 

heb. He, being dead, yet speaheth. 

L 4- The sun sets behind the western hills, but the trail 
of light he leaves behind him guides the pilgrim to his 
distant home. The tree falls in the forest; but in the 
lapse of ages it is turned into coal, and our fires burn 
now the brighter because it grew and fell. The coral 
insect died, but the reef it raised breaks the surge on 
the shores of great continents, or has formed an isle 
in the bosom of the ocean to wave now with harvests 
for the good of man, and to be a gem hereafter for 
the diadem of the great Redeemer. We live, and we 
die; but the good or evil that we do lives after us, and 
"is not buried with our bones." cumming. 

It was a touching memorial to their comrade, the 
warrior of Breton birth, La Tour d' Auvergne, the first 
grenadier of France, as he was called, when, after his 
death, his comrades insisted that, though dead, his 
name should not be removed from the rolls. It was 



Thoughts from My Library 



still regularly called, and one of the survivors regularly 
answered for the departed soldier, "Dead on the 
field." The eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the He- 
brews is such a roll-call of the dead, it is the register 
of a regiment, which will not allow death to blot 
names from its page, but records the soldiers who 
have, in its ranks, won honorable graves and long 
abiding victories. w. r. Williams. 

Without faith it is impossible to please God. heb. 

When a man hath liberty to go into the treasure- x *- 6 - 
house of a king, to enrich himself, he will first seek 
the keys wherewith to open the doors ; so, if we de- 
sire to be enriched with God's grace, we must first 
labor to have faith, which is the only key of God's 
treasure-house, and secures us all graces needful both 
for body and soul. cawdray. 

By faith Abraham . . . went out, not knowing heb. 

whither he went. xi. 8. 

Whither he went, he knew not; it was enough 
for him to know that he went with God. He leaned 
not so much upon the promise as upon the Promiser: 
he looked not on the difficulties of his lot — but on the 
King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God; 
Who had deigned to appoint his course, and would 
certainly vindicate Himself. . . . 

Ah, glorious faith! this is thy work, these are thy 
possibilities! contentment to sail with sealed orders, 
because of unwavering confidence in the love and 
wisdom of the Lord High Admiral: willinghood to 
arise up, leave all, and follow Christ, because of the 
glad assurance that earth's best cannot bear compari- 
son with heaven's best. • f. b. meyer. 

347 



One Thousand and One 



heb. (Moses) endured, as seeing him who is invisible. 
XL 2 7- When Scoresby was selecting his men to accom- 
pany him in his Arctic explorations, he needed sailors 
that could stand the severest exposures, and who had 
nerve to bear the worst trials. So every man who 
applied to accompany the expedition was made to 
stand barefooted on a great block of ice while the 
surgeon examined his body, and Scoresby inquired 
into his past history. Scores were rejected at once, 
as they had not nerve to endure the test. The men 
who stood the trial made up a band of the most glori- 
ous heroes. So sometimes God tries us when he has 
in store for us some great undertaking. Many faint 
and excuse themselves from the start. Some endure, 
and make the heroes and leaders of the church. 

VAIL. 

heb. Through faith . . . obtained promises. 
XL 33- God's promises were never meant to ferry our lazi- 
ness. Like a boat, they are to be rowed by our oars; 
but many men, entering, forget the oar, and drift 
down more helpless in the boat than if they had staid 
on shore. There is not an experience in life by whose 
side God has not fixed a promise. There is not a 
trouble so deep and swift-running, that we may not 
cross safely over, if we have courage to steer and 
strength to pull. beecher. 

heb. They without us should not be made perfect. 
xi. 40. jhe Church of Christ, which is partly militant and 
partly triumphant, resembles a city built on both sides 
of a river. There is but the stream of death between 
grace and glory. toplady. 

348 



Thoughts from My Library 



Let us lay aside every weight, . . . looking unto heb. 
Jesus. xii.i,2 

To know the Lord Jesus is the only cure for world- 
liness. mark guy pearse. 

Despising the shame. heb. 

And how is that to be done ? In two ways. Go X1L 2 - 
up the mountain, and the things in the plain will look 
very small; the higher you rise, the more insignificant 
they will seem. Hold fellowship with God, and live 
up beside your Master, and the threatening foes here 
will seem very, very unformidable. 

Another way is — pull up the curtain and gaze on 
what is behind it. The low foot-hills that lie at the 
base of some Alpine country may look high when 
seen from the plain, as long as the snowy summits 
are wrapped in mist, but when a little puff of wind 
comes and clears away the fog from the lofty peaks, 
nobody looks at the little green hills in front. So the 
world's hindrances and the world's difficulties and 
cares, look very lofty till the cloud lifts. But when 
we see the great white summits, everything lower 
does not seem so very high after all. Look to Jesus 
and that will dwarf the difficulties. maclaren. 

Consider him that endured such contradiction of sin- heb. 
tiers against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in xn - 3- 
your minds. 

One thing which contributed to make Caesar's sol- 
diers invincible, was their seeing him always ready to 
take his share in danger, and never desire any exemp- 
tion from labor and fatigue. We have a far higher 
incentive in the war for truth and goodness when we 

349 



One Thousand and One 



consider Him Who endured such contradiction of sin- 
ners against Himself. spurgeon. 

heb. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. 
x *** Lawns which we would keep in the best condition 
are very frequently mown; the grass has scarcely any 
respite from the scythe. Out in the meadows there is 
no such frequent cutting, they are mown but once or 
twice in the year. Even thus the nearer we are to 
God, and the more regard He has for us, the more fre- 
quent will be our adversities. To be very dear to God 
involves no small degree of chastisement. 

SPURGEON. 

As a father in a sunny garden stoops down to kiss 
a child the shadow of his body falls upon it ; so many 
of the dark misfortunes of our life are not God going 
away from us, but our Heavenly Father stooping down 
to give us the kiss of His infinite and everlasting love. 

TALMAGE. 

heb. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joy- 
xii. ii. otis, but grievous: nevertheless, afterward ityieldeth 
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which 
are exercised thereby. 

There are three ways of meeting divine chastening. 
We may "despise" it, as something commonplace — 
something that may happen to any one; we do not 
see the hand of God in it. Again, we may "faint' 1 
under it, as something too heavy for us to bear — some- 
thing entirely beyond endurance; we do not seethe 
Father's heart in it, or recognize His gracious object in 
it, namely to make us partakers of His holiness. 
Lastly, we may be " exercised" by it. This is the way 

350 



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to reap "the peaceable fruit of righteousness" after- 
ward. . . . Every stroke of His rod is a proof of 
His love. c. H. McINTOSH. 

Why should I start at the plough of my Lord that 
maketh deep furrows on my soul ? I know He is no 
idle husbandman, He purposeth a crop. 

RUTHERFORD. 

God wants iron saints ; and since there is no way of 
imparting iron to the moral nature other than by letting 
His people suffer, He lets them suffer. . . . The 
iron crown of suffering precedes the golden crown of 

glory. , F. B. MEYER. 

Follow . . . holiness without which no man shall heb. 

see the Lord. x h. 14. 

Holiness, which is the dress of heaven, is ready to 
fall, like Elijah's mantle, from the hand of Him Who 
hath said — "Turn unto Me and I will pour out My 
spirit upon you." Chalmers. 

Let brotherly love continue. heb. 

As the spokes of a carriage-wheel approach their X11L lt 
centre, they approach each other: so also, when men 
are brought to Jesus Christ, the centre of life and hope, 
they are drawn toward each other in brotherly rela- 
tionship, and stand side by side journeying to their 
heavenly home. j. f. Serjeant. 

/ will never leave thee nor forsake thee. heb. 

God Almighty never failed a man. We fail one an- xm. 5. 
other and deceive each other, but God will never fail 
us. God never made a fish with fins until He made 
an ocean to put him in. God never made a bird with 

35i 



One Thousand and One 



wings until He made an atmosphere for it to fly in, 
and God never planted the instincts of life immortal in 
our soul until He had built a heaven for our souls to 
dwell in. samjones. 

heb. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to-day, and for- 
xiii. 8. ever. 

Religious systems naturally circle around the priest. 
Christianity finds its centre in Jesus. What He is, it 
must be; and since He is unchangeably the same, it can 
never be superseded or pass away; it can never wane 
as the stars of the old dispensation did in the growing 
glory of the new; it must abide as the one final revela- 
tion of God to man, and the way by which man may 
enter into fellowship with God. f. b. meyer. 

heb. Here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to 
xiii. 14. come. 

A Christian, being only a traveller through the world, 
must expect a traveller's fare, — bad roads sometimes, 
bad weather, and bad accommodation; but since his 
journey is short, and his city is in heaven, all his ac- 
tions, sufferings, prayers, and conversation turn that 
way. BOGATSKY. 

By him therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to 
God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving 
thanks to his name. 

Praise is contentment rippling over into gladness, 
like the music of the brook. mark guy pearse. 

The everlasting covenant. 

Our union with Christ is the union of the covenant, 
and therefore not dependent upon frames and feelings. 

a. l. NEWTON. 

352 



HEB. 

xiii. 15. 



HEB. 

xiii. 20. 



Thoughts from My Library 



If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God . . .jas 
and it shall be given him. L z - 

The natives of India had a saying about Sir Henry 
Lawrence — "When Sir Henry looked up twice to 
heaven and once down to earth, and then stroked his 
beard, he knew what to do." If we may utilize the 
saying, it seems to express the attitude of mind with 
which all life's work and study should be done. The 
reverence which looks up, and the observation which 
looks around, combined with the judgment that can 
reflect, become safeguards against the falsehoods of 
extremes. There is an observation which is keen 
enough, but which, never looking upward, has no 
reverence; there is a pious reverence which, in its 
rapt and heavenward gaze, forgets to look earthward, 
and so loses touch with humanity; but he who, while 
regarding heaven, does not forget the world in which 
he lives and seeks to know also the man within, will 
avoid alike the dogmatism which is irreverent and the 
mysticism which is unpractical. bishop of ripon. 

God . . . givetb to all men liberally. jas 
Our Lord does everything on the largest and most h ! 
generous scale. Does Christ, our Creator, go forth to 
make leaves? He makes them by the whole forest 
full — notched like the fern, or silvered like the aspen, 
or broad like the palm; thickets in the tropics. Does 
He go forth to make flowers ? He makes plenty of 
them; they flame from the hedge, they hang from the 
top of the grapevine in blossoms, they roll in the blue 
wave of the violets, they toss their white surf into the 
spirea — enough for every child's hand a flower, enough 
to make for every brow a chaplet, enough with beauty 

353 



One Thousand and One 



to cover up the ghastliness of all the graves. Does He 
go forth to create water ? He pours it out, not by 
the cupful, but by a river-full, a lake-full, an ocean- 
full, pouring it out until all the earth has enough to 
drink, and enough with which to wash. Does Jesus, 
our Lord, provide redemption ? It is not a little salva- 
tion for this one, a little for that, and a little for the 
other; but enough for all. " Whosoever will, let him 
come." Each man an ocean-full for himself. Prom- 
ises for all, pardon for all, comfort for all, mercy for 
all, heaven for all. talmage. 

jas. Ask in faith, nothing wavering. 

L 6- Take the bow of faith and the arrow of prayer. 

MACDUFF. 

God cares not for the length of our prayers, or the 
number of our prayers, or the beauty of our prayers, 
or the place of our prayers. It is the faith in them 
that tells. TALMAGE. 

Never was faithful prayer lost at sea. No merchant 
trades with such certainty as the praying saint. Some 
prayers, indeed, have a longer voyage than others; but 
then they come with the richer lading at last. 

GURNALL. 

jas. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when 
.12. he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which 
the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 
Let Satan's fiery darts inflame your love rather than 
your lust, and, like a skillful pilot, make use of the 
violence of the winds and raging of the sea to further 
you in your spiritual voyage. charnock. 

354 



Thoughts from My Library 



The Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, jas. 
neither shadow of turning. L I 7- 

There be many Christians most like unto young 
sailors who think the shore and the whole land doth 
move when the ship and they themselves are moved. 
Just so, not a few imagine that God moveth, and 
saileth, and changeth places because their giddy souls 
are under sail and subject to alteration, to ebbing and 
flowing. But the foundation of the Lord abideth sure. 

RUTHERFORD. 

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father jas. 
is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their L 2 7- 
affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
world. 

The purest lives I have known have not been those 
carefully screened from the world, but which, coming 
up in it, have kept themselves unspotted. The sweet- 
est and truest have grown and ripened under condi- 
tions, you would say, most hostile, but which have 
been wrought into the means of a grandly elevated 
faith and life. ware. 

Whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in jas. 
one point, he is guilty of all. ii- Ia 

A chain is no stronger than its weakest link. 

Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. jas. 

Faith is a noble duchess; she ever hath her gentle- 1L I 7- 
man usher going before her, the confessing of sins; 
she hath a train after her, the fruits of good works, 
the walking in the commandments of God. He that 
believeth will not be idle; he will walk, he will do his 
business. Have ever the gentleman usher with you. 

355 



One Thousand and One 



So if you will try Faith, remember this rule, consider 
whether the train is waiting upon her. latimer. 

jas. Faith without works is dead. 

11. 20. Workless faith God never regards, 

Faithless work God never rewards. 

_ jas. Faith wrought with (Abraham 1 s) works, and by works 
11. 22. was j a ifjj made perfect. 

As ciphers, added one by one in an endless row to 
the left hand of a unit, are of no value, but, on the 
right hand, rapidly multiply its power, so, although 
good works are of no avail to make a man a Christian, 
t yet a Christian's good works are both pleasing to 
God and profitable to men. arnot. 

That was a very good illustration of the harmony 
between Paul and James on the subject of faith and 
works, used by the late Frederick W. Robertson, of 
Brighton, Eng.: "Paul says, 'Faith justifies without 
works.' James says, 'Faith without works is dead.' " 
Robertson thus reconciles them: "A tree cannot be 
struck without thunder; that is true, for there is never 
destructive lightning without thunder. But, again, if 
I say, The tree was struck by lightning without thun- 
der, that is true, too, if I mean that the lightning alone 
struck it, without the thunder striking it. Put it in 
one sentence — faith alone justifies, but not the faith 
which is alone. Lightning alone strikes, but not the 
lightning which is alone, without thunder; for that is 
only summer lightning, and harmless." 

jas. Earthly, sensual, devilish. 
in. 15. yh e i ac jder that leads down to hell has three steps; 
on the first, there is written " earthly "; on the second, 

356 



Thoughts from My Library 



" sensual "; and down there, just at hell's door comes 
the third, and on it is written " devilish." aitken. 

The friendship of the world is enmity with God. jas. 

It is like the ivy with the oak. The ivy may give lv * 
the oak a grand, beautiful appearance, but all the while 
it is feeding on its vitals. Are we compromising with 
the enemies of God ? Are we being embraced by the 
world, by its honors, its pleasures, its applause ? This 
may add to us in the world's estimation, but our 
strength becomes lost. denham smith. 

God . . . giveth grace unto the humble. jas. 

Many a poor man makes a bright Christian; God lv * 
keeps him humble that He may dwell in his heart, and 
that the beams of His grace may shine in his heart. 
See yon evening star, how bright it shines, how pure 
and steady are its rays; but look, it is lower in the 
heavens than those stars which sparkle with a restless 
twinkling in the higher region of the skies. God keep 
you low, that you may shine bright. Salter. 

Purify your hearts, ye double minded. jas. 

How foolish are we if we attempt to entertain two 
guests so hostile to one another as Christ Jesus and 
Satan! Rest assured, Christ will not live in the parlor 
of our hearts if we entertain Satan in the cellar of our 
thoughts. spurgeon. 

Ye know not what shall be on the morrow. 

"To-morrow" is the devil's great ally — the very 
Goliath in whom he trusts for victory. "Now " is the 
stripling sent forth against him. . . . The world 
will freely agree to be Christians to-morrow, if Christ 
will permit them to be worldly to-day. arnot. 

357 



IV. 



JAS. 

iv. 



One Thousand and One 



jas. To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to 
l l- him it is sin. 

Thousands of men pass off the stage of life, and are 
heard of no more. Why ? they do not partake of 
good in the world, and none were blessed by them ; 
none could point to them as the means of their re- 
demption; not a line they wrote, not a word they 
spake, could be recalled; and so they perished: their 
light went out in darkness, and they were not re- 
membered more than insects of yesterday. Will you 
thus live and die, O man immortal ? Live for some- 
thing. Do good, and leave behind you a monument 
of virtue that the storm of time can never destroy. 
Write your name in kindness, love, and mercy, on 
the hearts of thousands you come in contact with 
year by year: you will never be forgotten. No! your 
name, your deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you 
leave behind you as the stars on the brow of evening. 
Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven. 

CHALMERS. 

jas. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avail- 
16. eth much. 

A man dreamed he was travelling, and came to a 
little church, and on the cupola of that church there 
was a devil fast asleep. He went along further, and 
came to a log cabin, and it was surrounded by devils 
all wide awake. He asked one of them what it 
meant; said the devil, "\ will tell you. The fact is, 
that whole church is asleep and one devil can take care 
of all the people; but here are a man and woman who 
pray, and they have more power than the whole 
church." 

358 



Thoughts from My Library 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus i pet. 
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath L 3- 
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrec- 
tion of Jesus Christ from the dead. 
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the amen of God 

to all His deeds for the salvation of men. 

E. KAUTZCH. 



Kept by the power of God through faith unto salva- i pet. 
tion. L 5* 

A kite soaring on high is in a situation quite foreign 
to its nature; as much as the soul of man is, when 
raised above this lower world to high and heavenly 
pursuits. A person at a distance sees not how it is 
kept in its exalted situation ; he sees not the wind that 
blows it, nor the hand that holds it, nor the string by 
whose instrumentality it is held. But all of these 
powers are necessary to its preservation in that pre- 
ternatural state. If the wind were to sink, it would 
fall. It has nothing whatever in itself to uphold itself: 
it has the same tendency to gravitate to the earth that 
it ever had, and, if left for a moment to itself, it would 
fall. Thus it is with the soul of every true believer. 
It has been raised by the Spirit of God to a new, a pre- 
ternatural, a heavenly state; and in that state it is up- 
held by an invisible and almighty hand, through the 
medium of faith. And upheld it shall be, but not by 
any power in itself. If left for a moment, it would 
fall as much as ever. The whole strength is in God 
alone; and its whole security is in the unchangeable- 
ness of His nature, and in the efficacy of His grace. In 
a word, "it is kept by the power of God, through 
faith, unto salvation." Salter. 

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i pet. The trial of your faith, being much more precious than 
i- 7- of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, 
might be found unto praise and honor and glory at 
the appearing of Jesus Christ. 

When the devil tries our faith it is that he may 
crush it or diminish it; but when God tries our faith it 
is to establish and increase it. marcus rainsford. 

God has settled in heaven certain trials of our faith, 
which will as surely befall us as the crown of glory be 
given us at Christ's appearing. God's purposes of 
grace are a golden chain; not a link must be missing. 

Unfaithfulness will be to our souls as the deluge to 
the world, — a flood to drown us in perdition. Perse- 
cution will be to us as the deluge to the ark, — a flood 
to lift us toward heaven. punshon. 

i pet. Obedient children. 

i. 14. Understanding what the will of the Lord is. — Eph. 
v. iy. 

There is nothing like an obedient to-day to reveal 
God's will to-morrow. 

1 pet. Be ye holy; for I am holy. 

i. 16. highway of holiness is along the commonest 

road of life — along your very way. In wind and rain, 
no matter how it beats — it is only going hand in hand 
with Him. mark guy pearse. 

1 pet. A lamb without blemish and without spot. 
L l 9- The Lamb for an individual. — Gen. iv. 4. 

The Lamb for a household. — Ex. xii. 3. 

The Lamb for a nation. — Num. xxiii. 4. 

The Lamb for the world. — John i. 29. 

360 



Thoughts from My Library 

The word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. I pet. 

The Word abideth. The Jew hated it — but it lived L 2 3' 
on, while the veil was torn away from the shrine 
which the Shekinah had forsaken, and while Jerusalem 
itself was destroyed. The Greek derided it, — but it 
has seen his philosophy effete and his Acropolis in 
ruins. The Romans threw it into the flames — but it 
rose from its ashes, and swooped down upon the fall- 
ing eagle. The reasoner cast it into the furnace, 
which his own negligence had heated " seven times 
hotter than its wont," but it came out without the 
smell of fire. The formalist fastened serpents around 
it to poison it, but it shook them off and felt no harm. 
The infidel cast it overboard in a tempest of sophistry 
and sarcasm — but it rode gallantly upon the crest of 
the proud waters. And it is living still — yet heard in 
the loudest swelling of the storm — it has been speak- 
ing all the while — it is speaking now. punshon. 

The word of the Lord endureth forever. i pet. 

The empire of Caesar is gone; the legions of Rome *' 2 5* 
are mouldering in the dust; the avalanches that Napo- 
leon hurled upon Europe have melted away; the pride 
of the Pharaohs is fallen; the Pyramids they raised to 
be their tombs are sinking every day in the desert 
sands; Tyre is a rock for bleaching fishermen's nets; 
Sidon has scarcely left a wreck behind; but the word 
of God still survives. All things that threatened to 
extinguish it have only aided it; and it proves every 
day how transient is the noblest monument that man 
can build, how enduring is the least word that God 
has spoken. Tradition has dug for it a grave, intoler- 
ance has lighted for it many a fagot; many a Judas has 

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betrayed it with a kiss; many a Peter has denied it 
with an oath; many a Demas has forsaken it, but the 
word of God still endures. cumming. 

i pet. Servants of God. 

1L God has three kinds of servants in the world — (i) 

slaves, who serve Him from a principle of fear; (2) 
hirelings, who serve Him for the sake of wages; (3) 
sons, who serve Him under the influence of love. 

1 pet. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. 

11. 17. Yesterday is no mausoleum of dead deeds, no 
storehouse of mummies. Yesterday holds the full store 
of to-day's civilization; contains our tools, conven- 
iences, knowledges; contains our battlefields and vic- 
tories; above all gives us Bethlehem and Calvary. 
But alone man's yesterday is impotent; his to-morrow 
insufficient. The true man binds all his days together 
with an earnest, intense, passionate purpose. His 
yesterdays, to-days and to-morrows march together, 
one solid column, animated by one thought, con- 
strained by one conspiracy of desire, energizing toward 
one holy and helpful purpose — to serve man and love 

God. NEWELL DWIGHT HILLIS. 

i pet. Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, 

ii- 21 > that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin. 
22 

Never fear to suffer; but oh! fear to sin. If you 
must choose between them, prefer the greatest suffer- 
ing to the smallest sin. guthrie. 

1 pet. Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the 
ii. 24. tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto 
righteousness. 

Suppose a large graveyard, surrounded by a high wall, 
362 



Thoughts from My Library 



with only one entrance by a large iron gate which is 
fast bolted. Within these walls are thousands and 
tens of thousands of human beings, of all ages and of 
all classes, by one epidemic disease bending to the 
grave. The grave yawns to swallow them, and they 
must all die. There is no balm to relieve them, no 
physician there: they must perish. This is the condi- 
tion of man as a sinner: all, all have sinned, and the 
soul that sinneth shall die. While man was in this 
deplorable state, Mercy, an attribute of Deity, came 
down and stood at the gate, looked at the scene, and 
wept over it, exclaiming, "Oh that I might enter! I 
would bind up their wounds; I would relieve their 
sorrows; I would save their souls." While Mercy 
stood weeping at the gate, an embassy of angels, com- 
missioned from the court of heaven to some other 
world, passing over, paused at the sight; and Heaven 
forgave that pause. Seeing Mercy standing there, 
they cried, "Mercy, Mercy, can you not enter? can 
you look upon this scene, and not pity ? can you pity, 
and not relieve?" Mercy replied, "I can see; " and 
in her tears she added, " I pity, but cannot relieve." — 
"Why can you not enter?" — "Oh!" said Mercy, 
"Justice has barred the gate against me, and I cannot, 
must not, unbar it." At this moment, Justice himself 
appeared, as it were to watch the gate. The angels 
inquired of him, "Why will you not let Mercy in ?" 
Justice replied, "My law is broken, and it must be 
honored: die they or Justice must." At this, there ap- 
peared a form among the angelic band, like unto the 
Son of God, Who, addressing Himself to Justice, said, 
"What are thy demands?" Justice replied, "My 
• terms are stern and rigid. I must have sickness for 

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One Thousand and One 



their health; I must have ignominy for their honor; I 
must have death for life; without the shedding of 
blood, there is no remission." — " Justice," said the Son 
of God, " I accept thy terms. On Me be this wrong, 
and let Mercy enter." — " When," said Justice, "will 
you perform this promise?" Jesus replied, "Four 
thousand years hence, upon the hill of Calvary, with- 
out the gates of Jerusalem, I will perform it in My 
own person." The deed was prepared and signed in 
the presence of the angels of God. Justice was satis- 
fied; and Mercy entered, preaching salvation in the 
name of Jesus. The deed was committed to the patri- 
archs; by them to the kings of Israel and the prophets; 
by them it was preserved till Daniel's seventy weeks 
were accomplished; and, at the appointed time, Justice 
appeared on the hill of Calvary, and Mercy presented 
to him the important deed. "Where," said Justice, 
"is the Son of God?" Mercy answered, "Behold 
Him at the bottom of the hill, bearing His own cross; " 
and then he departed, and stood aloof at the hour of 
trial. Jesus ascended the hill, while in His train fol- 
lowed His weeping Church. Justice immediately pre- 
sented Him with the important deed, saying, "This is 
the day when this bond is to be executed." When He 
received it, did He tear it in pieces, and give it to the 
winds of heaven? No: He nailed it to His cross, ex- 
claiming " It is finished! " Justice called on holy fire to 
come down, and consume the sacrifice. Holy fire de- 
scended: it swallowed His humanity; but, when it 
touched His divinity, it expired, and there was dark- 
ness over the whole heavens; but, glory to God in the 
highest! on earth peace, and good-will to men. 

CHRISTMAS EVANS. 

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The answer of a good conscience toward God. !.F ET - 

Conscience is God's king, that He puts in a man's m ' 21 * 
breast; and conscience ought to reign. You may get 
up a civil war to fight against conscience; but you can- 
not kill the king. You may dethrone him for a while; 
but he struggles and fights for the mastery, coley. 

Live according to God in the spirit. i pet. 

Take care of your life : the Lord will take care of lv - ^- 
your death. f. whitfield. 

Watch unto prayer. i pet. 

Prayer is the chalice in which we fetch the water lv - 7- 
from the rock. It is the ladder on which we climb up 
to pick the grapes hanging over the wall of heaven. 
It is the fire that warms the frigid soul. It is the ship 
that carries away our wants, and comes back with a 
return cargo of Divine help. Archimedes said, if he 
could only find a fulcrum for his lever, he could move 
the world. Ah! we have found it! Prayer is the 
lever. The divine promise is the fulcrum. Pushing 
down on such a lever, we move not only earth, but 
also heaven. talmage. 

Prayer is the conduit-pipe between my soul and 
heaven. It is the outlet upward for gratitude, and 
yearning desires for blessing; it is the inlet through 
which the supplies of grace pour downward into the 
heart. cutler. 

As every man hath received the gift, even so minister i pet. 
the same one to another, as good stewards of the iv. 10. 
manifold grace of God. 

Each of God's saints is sent into the world to prove 
some part of the divine character. Perhaps I may be 

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One Thousand and One 

one of those who shall live in the valley of ease, hav- 
ing much rest, and hearing sweet birds of promise 
singing in my ears. The air is calm and balmy, the 
sheep are feeding round about me, and all is still and 
quiet. Well, then, I shall prove the love of God in 
sweet communings. Or perhaps I may be called to 
stand where the thunderclouds brew, where the light- 
nings play, and tempestuous winds are howling on the 
mountain-top. Well, then, I am born to prove the 
power and majesty of our God: amid dangers He will 
inspire me with courage; amid toils He will make me 
strong. Perhaps it shall be mine to preserve an un- 
blemished character, and so prove the power of sanc- 
tifying grace in not being allowed to backslide from 
my professed dedication to God. I shall then be a 
proof of the omnipotent power of grace, which alone 
can save from the power as well as the guilt of sin. 

SPURGEON. 

pet. Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's suf- 
13- ferings ; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye 

may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

Christ and His cross are not separable in this life, 
howbeit Christ and His cross part at heaven's door; 
for there is no house-room for crosses in heaven. One 
tear, one sigh, one sad heart, one loss, one thought of 
trouble, cannot find lodging there. They are but the 
marks of our Lord Jesus down in this wide inn and 
stormy country on this side death. Sorrow and the 
saints are not married together; or, suppose it were 
so, heaven would make a divorce. rutherford. 

pet. Be clothed with humility. 

- 5- Humility — the fairest and loveliest flower that grew 

366 



Thoughts from My Library 



in paradise, and the first that died — has rarely flourished 
since on mortal soil. It is so frail and delicate a thing 
that it is gone if it but looks upon itself, and they who 
venture to believe it theirs prove by that single thought 
they have it not. 

Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. i p £T - 

V 7 

Whatsoever it is that presses thee, go, tell thy Father, * 
put over the matter into His hand, and so thou shalt 
be freed from that dividing, perplexing care that the 
world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer 
anything, when thou art about any purpose or busi- 
ness, go tell God of it, and acquaint Him with it; yea, 
burden Him with it, and thou hast done for matter of 
caring; no more care, but quiet, sweet diligence in thy 
duty, and dependence on Him for the carriage of thy 
matters. Roll thy cares, and thyself with them, as 
one burden, all on thy God. r. leighton. 

Have you one anxious thought you do not bring to 
Jesus ? Have you one care you deem too light, too 
small to lay before Him ? It is then too small to give 
you one moment's concern. Either cast your care 
upon Him that careth for you, or cast it away from 
you altogether; if it be unfit for His sympathy, it is 
unworthy of you. 

Men do not avail themselves of the riches of God's 
grace. They love to nurse their cares, and seem as 
uneasy without some fret as an old friar would be 
without his hair girdle. They are commanded to cast 
their cares upon the Lord; but, even when they at- 
tempt it, they do not fail to catch them up again, and 
think it meritorious to walk burdened. They take 

367 



One Thousand and One 



God's ticket to heaven, and then put their baggage on 
their shoulders, and tramp, tramp the whole way there 

afoot. BEECHER. 

ii pet. Exceeding great and precious promises. 
L 4- The promises of God scattered throughout the Bible 
are like the stars in the firmament; if it were always 
day we should not know that the sky is so full of 
them, but when night approaches they begin to shine. 
When the night of affliction overtakes the child of 
heaven the promises of God are seen to shine forth 
one after another in the firmament of His Word. 

m ii pet. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure 
1 * 10 ' 11, . . . for so an entrance shall be ministered unto 
you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
You see yonder ship. After a long voyage, it has 
neared the haven, but is much injured; the sails are 
rent to ribbons, and it is in such a forlorn condition 
that it cannot come up to the harbor: a steam-tug is 
pulling it in with the greatest possible difficulty. That 
is like the righteous being " scarcely saved." But do 
you see that other ship ? It has made a prosperous 
voyage; and now, laden to the water's edge, with the 
sails all up and with the white canvas filled with the 
wind, it rides into the harbor joyously and nobly. 
That is an " abundant entrance"; and if you and I are 
helped by God's Spirit to add to our faith, virtue, and 
so on, we shall have at the last an "abundant entrance 
into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

SPURGEON. 

Though the wheels move slowly, yet they will 

368 



Thoughts from My Library 
• 

reach the goal! You are not the men you were twenty 
years ago. The most of the desert-road is now behind 
some of you. Your future on earth is narrowing it- 
self to a point. How is it with your souls ? Your 
feet are sore with the long journey; are your wings 
ready for flight into the kingdom of the crystal river 
and the unsetting sun ? Joseph parker. 

A . . . sure word of prophecy. n pet. 

Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, the venerable missionary and L ! 9- 
educator, tells the following story. While he was in 
Constantinople, soon after the Crimean War, a colonel 
in the Turkish army called to see him and said: "I 
want to ask you one question. What proof can you 
give me that the Bible is what you claim it to be — the 
Word of God?" 

Dr. Hamlin evaded the question and drew the officer 
into conversation, during which he learned that his 
visitor had travelled a great deal, especially in the East 
in the region of the Euphrates. "Were you ever in 
Babylon ? " asked the doctor. ' ' Yes, and that reminds 
me of a curious experience I had there," replied the 
visitor, who then related the following account of his 
visit to the ancient capital of the world: 

"I am very fond of sport, and having heard that the 
ruins of Babylon abound in game I determined to go 
there for a week's shooting. Knowing that it was not 
considered safe for a man to be there except in the 
company of several others — and money being no ob- 
ject to me — I engaged a sheik with his followers to ac- 
company me for a large sum. We reached Babylon 
and pitched our tents. A little before sundown I took 
my gun and strolled out to have a look around. The 

369 



One Thousand and One 



holes and caverns among the mounds which cover the 
ruins are infested with game, which, however, is rarely 
seen except at night. I caught sight of one or two 
animals in the distance, and then turned my steps to- 
ward our encampment, intending to begin my sport as 
soon as the sun had set. What was my surprise to 
find the men striking the tents. I went to the sheik 
and protested most strongly. I had engaged him for 
a week and was paying him most handsomely, and 
here he was starting off before our contract had scarcely 
begun. 

" Nothing I could say, however, would induce him 
to remain. 'It isn't safe,' he said, 'no mortal flesh 
dare stay here after sunset. In the dark ghosts, gob- 
lins, ghouls, and all sorts of things come put of the 
holes and caverns, and whoever is found here is taken 
off by them and becomes one of themselves.' Finding 
I could not persuade him, I said, ' Well, as it is, I'm 
paying you more than I ought to, but if you'll stay I'll 
double it.' 'No,' he said, 'I couldn't stay for all the 
money in the world. No mortal flesh has ever seen 
the sun go down on Babylon and lived to tell the tale. 
But I want to do what is right by you. We'll go off 
to a place about an hour distant and come back at day- 
break.' And go they did and my sport had to be 
given up." 

"As soon as he had finished," said Dr. Hamlin, "I 
took my Bible, and read from the thirteenth chapter of 
Isaiah: 'And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the 
beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when 
God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never 
be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from genera- 
tion to generation : neither shall the Arabian pitch tent 

370 



Thoughts from My Library 



there: neither shall the shepherds make their fold 
there: but wild beasts of the desert shall be there: and 
their houses shall be full of doleful creatures: and owls 
shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And 
the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate 
houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her 
time is near to come, and her days shall not be pro- 
longed.' 

" 'That's it exactly,' said the Turk when I had fin- 
ished, 'but that's history you have been reading.' 
No," answered Dr. Hamlin, "it's prophecy. Come, 
you're an educated man. You know that the Old 
Testament was translated into Greek about 300 years 
before Christ." He acknowledged that it was. "And 
the Hebrew was given at least 200 years before that?" 
"Yes." "Well, wasn't this written when Babylon 
was in its glory, and isn't it prophecy?" "I'm not 
prepared to give you an answer now," he replied, "I 
must have time to think it over." " Very well, do so, 
and come back when you're ready and give me your 
answer," said Dr. Hamlin. " From that day to this I 
have never seen him," continued the doctor, "but 
what an unexpected testimony to the truth of the 
Bible in regard to the fulfillment of prophecy did that 
Turkish officer give! " 

Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy 11 pet. 
Ghost. i. 21. 

In the diamond fields of South Africa a diamond . 
was found, celebrated lately under the title of fly- 
stone; placed under a magnifying-glass, you see en- 
closed in all its brilliancy a little fly, with body, wings, 
and eyes in a most perfect state of preservation. How 

37i 



One Thousand and One 

it came there no one knows, but no human skill can 
take it out. So in Holy Scripture the Spirit of God is 
found in a place from which no power of man can re- 
move it. m'ewan. 

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. 

When the Spirit renews in our minds a Gospel truth, 
let us turn it into a present plea, and be God's remem- 
brancer of His own promises, as the Spirit is our re- 
membrancer of Divine truths. We need not doubt 
some rich fruit of the application at such a season. 

CHARNOCK. 

Grow in grace. 
Five degrees of growth in grace: 
New born babes. — i Pet. ii. 2. 
Weaned child. — Is. xxviii. 9. 
Little children. — 1 John ii. 12. 
Young men. — 1 John ii. 13. 
Fathers. — 1 John ii. 13. 

1 john Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his 
i- 3- Son Jesus Christ. 

The life of fellowship with God cannot be built up 
in a day. f. b. meyer. 

Crucified with Him. — Rom. vi. 6. 
Died with Christ. (Alford's Trans.). — Rom. vi. 8. 
Buried with Him. — Rom. vi. 4. 
Planted together in the likeness of His death. — Rom. 
vi. 5. 

Planted together in the likeness of His resurrection. — 
Rom. vi. 5. 
Quickened together. — Eph. ii. 5. 
Raised up together. — Eph. ii. 6. 

372 



II PET. 

iii. 9. 



II PET. 

iii. 18. 



Thoughts from My Library 



Sitting together in heavenly places. — Eph. ii. 6. 
Living together. — i Thess. v. io. 
Working together. — Mark xvi. 20. 
Suffering together. — Rom. viii. 17. 
Glorified together.— Rom. viii. 17. 

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have 1 john 
fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus i- 7- 
Christ his Son cleanseth ns from all sin. 
When a man walketh in the sun, if his face be to- 
ward it, he hath nothing before him but bright shining 
light, and comfortable heat; but, let him once turn his 
back to the sun, what hath he before him but a 
shadow ? And what is a shadow but the privation of 
light, and heat of the sun? Yea: it is but to behold 
his own shadow, defrauding himself of the other. 
Thus there is no true wisdom, no true happiness, no 
real comfort, but in beholding the countenance of God: 
look from that, and we lose these blessings. And 
what shall we gain ? a shadow, an empty image, — in- 
stead of a substantial, to gain an empty image of our- 
selves, and lose the solid image of God. spencer. 

You have seen two thunderclouds meet. One cloud 
from this mountain, and another cloud from that 
mountain, coming nearer and nearer together, and re- 
sponding to each other, crash to crash, thunder to 
thunder, boom! boom! And then the clouds break 
and the torrents pour, and they are emptied perhaps 
into the very same stream that comes down so red at 
your feet, that it seems as if all the carnage of the 
storm-battle has been emptied into it. So in this Bible 
I see two storms gather, one above Sinai, the other 
above Calvary, and they respond one to the other — 

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One Thousand and One 



flash to flash, thunder to thunder, boom! boom! 
Sinai thunders, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die;" 
Calvary responds, "Save them from going down to 
the pit, for I have found a ransom." Sinai says, 
"Woe! woe!" Calvary answers, "Mercy! mercy!" 
And then the clouds burst, and empty their treasures 
into one torrent, and it comes flowing to our feet, red 
with the carnage of our Lord — in which, if thy soul 
be plunged, it shall go forth free— free! talmage. 

i john If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to for- 
i- 9- give us our sins. 

"If we confess our sins," not, "If we ask to be for- 
given." We must face the fact of sin, fully, and not 
try to excuse ourselves. j. Hudson taylor. 

He that repents every day for the sins of every day, 
when he comes to die will have the sin but of one day 
to repent of. p. henry. 

i john Love not the world, neither the things that are in the 

ii- 15- world. 

An eagle, flying over a valley of ice, discovered a 
carcass, upon which it descended, and feasted so long, 
that its wings became frozen to the ice. In vain it 
struggled to mount upward: a vivid emblem of 
worldly desires. 

If you will go to the banks of a little stream, and 
watch the flies that come to bathe in it, you will no- 
tice, that, while they plunge their bodies in the water, 
they keep their wings high out of the water; and, 
after swimming about a little while, they fly away 
with their wings unwet through the sunny air. Now, 

m 



Thoughts from My Library 



that is a lesson for us. Here we are immersed in the 
cares and business of the world; but let us keep the 
wings of our soul, our faith, and our love, out of the 
world, that, with these unclogged, we may be ready 
to take our flight to heaven. j. inglis. 

The world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he j John 
that doeth the will of God abideth forever. 1L I 7- 

See all things, not in the blinding and deceitful glare 
of the world's noon, but as they will seem when the 
shadows of life are closing in. At evening the sun 
seems to loom large on the horizon, while the land- 
scape gradually fades from view; and then the sunset 
reveals the infinitude of space crowded with unnum- 
bered worlds, and the firmament glows with living 
sapphires. Even so, let the presence of God loom 
large upon the narrow horizon of your life, and the 
firmament of your souls glow with the living sapphires 
of holy thoughts. Ah ! try now to look at the world 
and its allurements as they will seem in the last hour; 
to look at unlawful pleasure as it shall then seem, not 
only a disappointing, but a depraving and an enven- 
omed thing; to look at the small aims of ambition as 
they shall seem when they have dwindled into their 
true paltriness. farrar. 

In the age succeeding the flood, they piled old 
Babel's tower, and said, "This shall last forever." 
But God confounded their language: they finished it 
not. Old Pharaoh and the Egyptian monarchs heaped 
up their Pyramids, and they said, "They shall stand 
forever": and so, indeed, they do stand; but the time 
is approaching when age shall devour even these. 
The most stable things have been evanescent as shad- 

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One Thousand and One 



ows and the bubbles of an hour, speedily destroyed at 
God's bidding. Where is Nineveh ? and where is 
Babylon? Where the cities of Persia? Where are 
the high places of Edom ? Where are Moab and the 
princes of Ammon ? Where are the temples of the 
heroes of Greece ? Where the millions that passed 
from the gates of Thebes ? Where are the hosts of 
Xerxes ? or where the vast armies of the Roman em- 
perors ? Have they not passed away ? And though 
in their pride they said, "This monarchy is an ever- 
lasting one, this queen of the seven hills shall be called 
the eternal city," its pride is dimmed; and she who 
sat alone, and said, " I shall be no widow, but a queen 
forever," — she hath fallen, hath fallen; and in a little 
while she shall sink like a millstone in the flood, her 
name being a curse and a byword, and her site the 
habitation of dragons and of owls. Man calls his 
works eternal; God calls them fleeting; man conceives 
that they are built of rock; God says, "Nay, sand; or, 
worse than that, they are air." Man says he erects 
them for eternity; God blows but for a moment, and 
where are they? Like baseless fabrics of a vision, 
they are passed and gone forever. spurgeon. 

I saw a temple reared by the hands of man, stand- 
ing with its high pinnacle in the distant plain. The 
streams beat about it, the God of Nature hurled His 
thunder-bolts against it; yet it stood as firm as ad- 
amant. Revelry was in the hall; the gay, the happy, 
the young, the beautiful, were there. I returned, and, 
lo! the temple was no more. Its high walls lay in 
scattered ruin ; moss and grass grew rankly there ; and, 
at the midnight hour, the owl's long cry added to the 
solitude. The young and gay who had revelled there 

376 



Thoughts from My Library- 



had passed away. I saw a child rejoicing in his youth, 
the idol of his mother, and the pride of his father. I 
returned, and that child had become old. Trembling 
with the weight of years, he stood, the last of his 
generation, a stranger amidst all the desolation around 
him. I saw an old oak standing in all its pride upon 
the mountain : the birds were carolling in its boughs. 
I returned, and saw the oak was leafless and sapless: 
the winds were playing at their pastime through the 
branches. "Who is the destroyer?" said I to my 
guardian angel. "It is Time," said he. "When the 
morning-stars sang together for joy over the new- 
made world, he commenced his course, and when 
he has destroyed all that is beautiful on the earth, 
plucked the sun in his sphere, veiled the moon in 
blood; yea, when he shall have rolled the heavens and 
the earth away as a scroll, then shall an angel from 
the throne of God come forth, and, with one foot 
upon the land, lift up his hand toward heaven, and 
swear by heaven's Eternal, time was, but time shall 
be no more." paulding. 

They went out from us, but they were not of us. i john 

One evening I went out with a shepherd to collect 1L *9- 
his sheep. After they had been gathered together, 
and were being driven off the moor, I observed that 
there were some among them who did not belong to 
his flock. I particularly noticed, also, that he paid no 
attention whatever to these wandering strangers, 
urged forward, though they were, by the barking dog, 
further and further from their rightful companions. 
At last, thinking I must have been mistaken in sup- 
posing they were not his, I pointed to one or two of 

377 



One Thousand and One 



them, and said, "Are those your sheep?" And he 
answered, "No." I said unto him, "Why, then, do 
you not separate them from the flock?" And he 
answered, and said, "They will find out directly they 
are not of us, and then they will go away of them- 
selves." And immediately I remembered the words 
of John, and how he had said, "They went out from 
us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of 
us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but 
they went out that they might be made manifest that 
they were not all of us." 

i john We have known and believed the love that God hath to 

iv. 1 6. us. God is love. 

When one who has never sailed out upon the 
ocean stands on its shore and watches the trembling 
waves as they surge and break upon the sands, how 
little does he know of the majesty and grandeur of the 
great deep, of its storms, of its power, of its secrets, 
of its unfathomable chambers, of its unweighed treas- 
ures ? He sees only the little silver edge that breaks 
at his feet. So we stand but where the Spirit of God 
breaks upon the shore of our world. We see its silver 
edge. We feel the plash of its waves upon our hearts. 
But of its infinite reaches and outgoings, beyond our 
shores we know almost nothing. Yet blessed are 
they who even stand by the shore and lave their hearts 
in even the shallowest eddies of this divine ocean. 

J. R. MILLER. 

i john Perfect love casteth out fear. 

iv. 1 8. p ear an( j j ove r j se U p j n antagonism to each other as 
motives in life, like those two mountains from which 
respectively the blessings and curses of the old law 

378 



Thoughts from My Library 



were pronounced — the Mount of Cursing, all barren 
and stony, without verdure and without water; the 
Mount of Blessing, green, and bright with many a 
flower, and blessed with many a trickling rill. Fear 
is barren. Love is fruitful. The one is a slave, and 
its work is little worth. The other is free, and its 
deeds are great and precious. From the blasted 
summit of the mountain which gendereth to bondage 
may be heard the words of the law, but the power to 
keep all these laws must be sought on the sunny hill 
where liberty dwells in love and gives energy to 
obedience. Therefore, Christian man, if you would 
use in your own life the highest power that God has 
given us for our growth in grace, draw your argu- 
ments not from fear but from love. And if you 
would win the world, melt it, do not hammer it. If 
you would grow in power, holiness, blessedness, re- 
member this — "love is the fulfilling of the law." 

McLAREN. 

Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. i John 

He that "is born of God overcometh the world"; v * 4* 
rising above the storms, and disturbing elements of 
flesh and nature, and all out of which Christ has risen, 
it seeks its own native element springing up into ever- 
lasting life, like the frigate bird which, when the 
storms agitate the surface of the ocean, when winds 
and waves rage in contempt of life on every side, rises 
aloft into the calm above the storms, and floats se- 
curely and tranquilly in that peaceful atmosphere, 
where it finds itself at home and at rest! 

Keep yourselves from idols. ! john 

When Alexander the Great visited the Greek philos- v. 21. 
379 



One Thousand and One 



opher, Diogenes, he asked him if there was anything 
that he could give him. He got this short answer, " I 
want nothing but that you should stand from between 
me and the sun." One thing there is which should 
never satisfy and content us; and that is, " anything 
that stands between our souls and Christ." ryle. 

ii john Look to yourselves. 

"I cannot sweep the darkness out, but I can shine 
it out," said John Newton. We cannot scourge dead 
works out of the church, but we can live them out. 
If we accuse the church with having the pneumonia, 
let us who are individual air-cells in that church breathe 
deeply and wait patiently and pray believingly, and one 
after another of the obstructed cells will open to the 
Spirit till convalescence is reestablished in every part. 

A. J. GORDON. 

jude Keep yourselves in the love of God. 
21 ' I once saw a dark shadow resting on the bare side 
of a hill. Seeking its cause, I saw a little cloud, bright 
as the light, floating in the clear blue above. Thus it 
is with our sorrow. It may be dark and cheerless 
here on earth ; yet look above, and you shall see it to 
be but a shadow of His brightness Whose name is 
love. ALFORD. 

rev. / am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. 

lm ' What are the two characteristics of what is enclosed 
by Alpha and Omega? These: All-needed and all- 
sufficient. The Bible opens with a book of beginnings, 
and its last book is a book of endings; they enclose a 
revelation, all-needed and all-sufficient. We cannot 
do without a page of it, or it would not have been 

380 



Thoughts from My Library 



here. The practical thing is this: Do not put any- 
thing before Alpha, and do not put anything after 
Omega. I have a righteous indignation against pref- 
aces to the Gospel of Christ, and an equally righteous 
indignation as to any supplement or appendix to that 
Gospel. Christ is the Alpha and Christ is the Omega, 
and I do not want to put anything before Him; and if 
I am to live the Christian life I dare not put anything 
after Him. All-needed and all-sufficient! 

GEORGE WILSON. 

/ was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. rev. 

Never had John such a Sabbath, and never could he L 10 
see such again, until the earnest and emblem were ex- 
changed for the full vision and fruition of the eternal 
Sabbath above. What sights! what sounds! what 
forms! what scenery! — fit recompense surely for years 
of conflict and toil. The solitary place was made 
glad. What Christian Church was ever consecrated 
like this ? Where the most magnificent Sanctuary 
made with hands that has ever witnessed such glory ? 
The worshipper — one lonely exile. His temple — a 
rock in mid-ocean. The theme he listens to — the 
Church-militant, — its sufferings — its triumphs — its 
eternal rewards. The Preacher, no earthly ambassador 
— but his adorable Lord, arrayed in the lustre of His 
exalted humanity. Oh! never did the tones of the 
Sabbath-bell fall so joyfully on the ear, as when the 
expatriated Pilgrim was startled from his bended knees 
by the trumpet-voice exclaiming, "I am Alpha and 
Omega, the first and the last ! " macduff. 

Fear none of those things. rev. 
Above the voices of many waters, the mighty n * I( 
381 



One Thousand and One 



breakers of the sea, the Lord sits as king upon the 
flood; yea, the Lord sitteth as king forever. A storm 
is only as the outskirts of His robe, the symptom of 
His advent, the environment of His presence. His 
way lies through, as well as in the sea, His path amid 
mighty waters, and His footsteps are veiled from hu- 
man reason. Dare to trust Him; dare to follow Him! 
Step right down into the ooze of the sea, to find it 
rock; go down into the mighty depths, to discover 
that the very forces which barred your progress and 
threatened your life, at His bidding become the mate- 
rials of which an avenue is made to liberty. 

F. B. MEYER. 

rev. Be thou faithful unto death. 

- IO - On one of those battlefields where Austria suffered 
disastrous defeat when the bloody fight was over, and 
the victors were removing the wounded, they came on 
a young Austrian stretched on the ground, whose life 
was pouring out in the red streams of a ghastly 
wound. To their astonishment he declined their kind 
services. Recommending others to be removed, he 
implored them, though he might still have been saved, 
to let him alone. On returning some time afterward, 
they found him dead — all his battles o'er. But the 
mystery was explained. They raised the body to give 
it burial, and there, below him, lay the .colors of his 
regiment. He had sworn not to part with them, and 
though he clung to life, would not purchase recovery 
at the price of his oath, and the expense of a soldier's 
honor. guthrie. 

rev. Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 
ll - l - Have you ever read " The Ancient Mariner" ? I dare 

382 



Thoughts from My Library 



say you thought it one of the strangest imaginations 
ever put together, especially that part where the old 
mariner represents the corpses of all the dead men ris- 
ing up to man the ship, — dead men pulling the rope, 
dead men steering, dead men spreading sails. I 
thought what a strange idea that was. But do you 
know that I have lived to see that time ? I have seen 
it done. I have gone into churches, and I have seen a 
dead man in the pulpit a dead man as deacon, and a 
dead man handling the plate, and dead men sitting to 
hear. spurgeon. 

A man may be a living churchman but a dead 
Christian. ryle. 

Hold that fast which thou hast. 

We can only hold fast what we have by constantly 
using it. If we have a measure of love, we must daily 
study the means of manifesting it. It is easily re- 
covered from yesterday, but not from the day before. 
If we have joy, we must persevere in rejoicing; every 
day must have its spiritual joy. Our peace too, we 
must daily see to it that it is with us. So with long 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem- 
perance. Each day is to be considered a stage, and 
we must ascertain regularly that none of our treasures 
have been left behind. Christians are ready to think, 
until they have learned the contrary, that their graces 
are safe when they are slumbering, but their slumber 
is fatal. Whatever we would retain we must keep 
near our consciousness; our will, our memory, our 
understanding, all must be conversant with it. 

BOWEN. 

383 



One Thousand and One 



rev. Thou say est, I am rich, and increased with goods, and 
hi- l l- have need of nothing; and hnowest not that thou art 
wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and 
naked. 

We need help from God to know our helplessness. 
The greatest of all our enemies is in the royal chamber 
of our inmost being and rules us with a rod of iron, 
though it be bound about with ivy leaves. We need 
help from God Himself to become aware of the true 
character of this enthroned enemy, and to see the deso- 
lations he has wrought in our heritage. Alas for them 
who know not their need of help. The triumph of 
their foe is complete. They are led captive at his will, 
even though we see them occupying the high places 
of the earth, admired and followed by vast crowds. 

BOWEN. 

rev. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock : if any man 
ni. 20. hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to 

him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 

Behold the dignity of man! The heart is a palace, 
barred and bolted, kept by man, and Christ his Maker 
allows him to hold the key, and will not force a way 
in. Behold the interest in man! Gracious powers 
from above gather about him in pity and love, and out 
of the midst of these, Christ knocks and asks admis- 
sion. No other being is the centre of such interest. 
Behold the privilege of man ! If he hear the entreaty 
and open the door, the Son of God will come in and 
dwell with him. Behold the blessedness of man! The 
soul into which Christ thus enters has Christ sup with 
him and he with Christ. Note the order: Christ first 
comes down and sups with him, and then takes him 

384 



Thoughts from My Library 



up to sup with Himself — Christly communion with 
Christ as leader up the ever higher Christly ranges. 
Here is the highest bliss and Christ stands at the door 
of our hearts and knocks, offering it. i. e. dwinell. 

A man once stopped a preacher in a street of Lon- 
don, and said, "I once heard you preach in Paris, and 
you said something which I have never forgotten, and 
which has, through God, been the means of my con- 
version." " What was that?" said the preacher. " It 
was that the latch was on our side of the door. I had 
always thought that God was a hard God, and that we 
must do something to propitiate Him. It was a new 
thought to me that Christ was waiting for me to open 
to Him." 

To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in rev. 
my throne. m - 2 

At the close of the war of 1866, the triumphant army 
of Prussia came to Berlin for a reception of welcome. 
As each regiment approached the city gate from the 
Thiergarten, it was halted by a choir, demanding by 
what right it would enter the city. The regiment re- 
plied in a song, reciting the battles it had fought, the 
victories it had won; then came a welcome from the 
choir, " Enter into the city." And so the next came 
up, reciting its deeds, and another, and another, each 
challenged and welcomed. They marched up the 
Linden between rows of captured cannon, with the 
banners they had borne and the banners they had 
taken, and they saluted the statue of grand old Fred- 
erick, the creator of Prussia. So, when all the fierce 
warfare of earth shall have been accomplished, and 
the kingdom of Christ assured, the phalanxes of His 

385 



One Thousand and One 



church shall go up to the city with songs and tokens 
of victory. They shall march in together, singing 
hallelujahs, and shall lay their trophies at the feet of 
Him upon whose head are many crowns — King of 
kings and Lord of lords. Thompson. 

rev. They rest not day and night. 

v * O blessed rest ! when we " rest not day and night, say- 
ing, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! " — when we 
shall rest from sin, but not from worship — from suf- 
fering and sorrow, but not from joy! O blessed day! 
when I shall rest with God — when I shall rest in know- 
ing, loving, rejoicing and praising! when my perfect 
soul and body shall together perfectly enjoy the most 
perfect God — when God, Who is love itself, shall per- 
fectly love me, and rest in His love to me, and I shall 
rest in my love to Him — when He shall rejoice over me 
with joy, and joy over me with singing, and I shall 
rejoice in Him. Baxter. 

rev. They sung a new song. 

v - 9- Peter Mackenzie, a Wesleyan preacher in England 
was once preaching from the text, " And they sung a 
new song," and he said: "Yes, there will be singing 
in heaven, and when I get there I shall want to have 
David with his harp, and Paul and Peter and other 
saints, gather round for a sing. And I will announce 
a hymn from the Wesleyan Hymnal. Let us sing 
hymn No. 749, 'My God, my Father, while I stray.' 

" But some one will say : ' That won't do. You are 
in heaven, Peter; there is no straying here.' And I 
will say, Yes that is so. Let us sing No. 651, ' Though 
waves and storms go o'er my head.' But another 
saint will say, ' Peter, you are in heaven now, you for- 

386 



Thoughts from My Library 



get that there are no storms here.' Well, I will try 
again. No. 536, 'Into a world of ruffians sent.' 
'Peter! Peter! ' some one will say; 'we will put you 
out unless you stop giving out inappropriate hymns,' 
and then I will ask, ' What shall we sing ? ' And they 
will all say, ' Sing the new song, the song of Moses 
and the Lamb.' " 

A great multitude . . . stood before the throne, rev. 
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and vii. 9. 
palms in their hands. 

A station on the feet in front of the throne in heaven 
is the effect of being often on the knees before the 
throne on earth. 

These are they which came out of great tribulation, rev. 
and have washed their robes, and made them white vii. l 4- 
in the blood of the Lamb. 

Who are they that I see triumphing in the heavenly 
host ? They that lived in ceiled houses ? They that 
walked the earth with crowns upon their heads ? They 
that knew no sorrow? No. "These are they which 
came out of great tribulation, and have washed their 
robes and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb" ; they that cried from under the altar, "How 
long, O Lord, how long?" — these are they that stand 
highest in the kingdom of God. Heaven is just be- 
fore you. And many of you that seem to have a long 
and weary path of suffering will soon be done with 
your period of trial, and will rise to honor and glory in 
Christ Jesus. beecher. 

The angel . . . sware . . . that there should rev. 
be time no longer. x. 5, 6. 

Time's one great day begins with the creation of 

387 



One Thousand and One 



man, and ends with the coming of the Lord; but 
already in God's sight that expanse is nothing more 
than a point; and to ourselves, when from eternity we 
look back, it will seem a speck upon the infinite. As 
one star differeth from another star in glory, this day 
will shine more brightly than all the rest, for it is the 
bride's birthday ; it is the date attached to every name 
in the Lamb's book of life. arnot. 

rev. He that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the 
xiv.16. earth; and the earth was reaped. 

Jesus Christ always uses expressions with regard to 
His people, which impute their death to Him alone. 
You will recollect the expression in the Revelation — 
" Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come 
for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe." 
But when He begins to reap, not the vintage, which 
represents the wicked that were to be crushed, but the 
harvest which represents the godly; then it is said, 
" He that sat on the cloud thrust in the sickle." He 
did not leave it to His angels, He did it Himself. 

SPURGEON. 

rev. There shall be no more death. 
xxi. 4. Death is the black servant who rides behind the 
chariot of life. spurgeon. 

rev. He that overcometh shall inherit all things. 
xxi. 7. At the battJe of CrecV) w here Edward the Black 
Prince, then a youth of eighteen years of age, led the 
van, the king, his father, drew up a strong party on 
a rising ground, and there beheld the conflict, in readi- 
ness to send relief where it should be wanted. The 
young prince, being sharply charged, and in some 
danger, sent to his father for succor; and as the king 

388 



Thoughts from My Library 



delayed to send it, another messenger was sent to 
crave immediate assistance. To him the king replied, 
" Go, tell my son, I am not so inexperienced a com- 
mander as not to know when succor is wanted, nor so 
careless a father as not to send it." He intended the 
honor of the day should be his son's, and therefore let 
him with courage stand to it, assured that help should 
be had when it might conduce most to his renown. 
God draws forth His servants to fight in the spiritual 
warfare, where they are engaged not only against the 
strongholds of carnal reason, and the exalted imag- 
inations of their own hearts, but also in the pitched 
field against Satan and his wicked instruments. But 
they, poor hearts, when the charge is sharp, are ready 
to despond, and cry with Peter, "Save, Lord, we 
perish "; but God is too watchful to overlook their ex- 
igencies, and too much a Father to neglect their succor. 
If help, however, be delayed, it is that the victory may 
be more glorious by the difficulty of overcoming. 

SPURGEON. 

/ am . . . the bright and morning star. rev. 

The " bright and morning star " is more to our soul's ™ K 
firmament than all the constellations of the sky. 

JOHN KER. 

The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that rev. 
heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst xxii. 
come: and whosoever will, let him take the water of l l- 
life freely. 

I have heard that in the deserts, when the caravans 
are in want of water, they are accustomed to send on 
a camel, with its rider, some distance in advance; 
then, after a little space, another follows; and then, at 

389 



One Thousand "and One 



a short interval, another. As soon as the first man finds 
water, almost before he stoops down to drink he shouts 
aloud, "Come!" The next one, hearing the voice, 
repeats the word, "Come!" while the nearest - again 
takes up the cry, "Come!" until the whole wilderness 
echoes with the word "Come! " spurgeon. 



390 



Index 



Acquaintance with God, 27, 330. 
Adam, the first and second, 270, 271. 
Affliction, 64, 65, 70, 84, 109, 137, 145, 
154, 163. 331, 345, 350, 351, 380. 
All in Christ, 264, 265, 380. 
Allurements, 166. 
"Although" and "yet," 51, 160. 
" Altogether " and " almost," 250. 
Answers to prayer, 75, 221, 289, 354. 
Apostasy, 344. 
" At Jesus' feet," 203. 
Atonement, the, 224, 237. 

Beatitudes, the, 167. 
Beginning and end, 143. 
Belief in God, 70. 

Bible, the, 9, 105, 106, 107, no, in, 
132, 144, 218, 232, 290, 310, 320, 
337- 

Bible Truths, 68, 87, 217, 291, 371. 
Blessing, reality of, 12, 44, 220. 
Blood of Christ, the, 209, 224, 300, 

342. 
Body, the, 271. 
Building, 263, 303. 

Calmness under trial, 21, 84, 130, 135, 
*75- 

Calvary, 210, 223. 
Care of God, the, 41, 42, 57, 86. 
Cares, 172, 173, 367. 
Character, 117, 259. 
Children of God, 39. 



Choice and service, 46. 
Christ, an anchor, 61, 339. 

a sun, 165. 

equal with God, 215. 

in the Bible, 45, 333. 

in the Christian, 291, 292, 293, 

3 r 3- 

our all, 214, 226, 229, 262, 311, 

312, 318, 321, 323. 

our example, 225, 349. 

our guide, 90, 141. 

our life, 211, 239, 322, 323. 

our preparation, 52. 

the bread of life, 217. 

the door, 220. 

the image of God, 281. 

Christian, conversation of a, 177, 31 1, 

316. 

happiness of a, 113. 

life of a, 74, 83, 96, 97, 102, 104, 

115, 117, 118, 120, 123, 215, 241, 

269, 278, 280, 324, 328, 329, 365. 
path of a, 108, 116, 117, 183, 207, 

244, 246, 352. 

perfection, 14, 281. 

security, 61, 84, 234, 321, 322, 

334- 

worker, the, 146, 285. 

Christian's footmen, the, 78. 

weapons, the, 289. 

Christians — God's pleasure, 1 15. 

the light of the world, 168, 1 69, 

307- 



Index 



Christians, the salt of the earth, 167. 

worldly, 173, 174. 

Christianity, 241. 

Christmas, 196, 197, 198. 

Church of Christ, the, 89, 269, 348. 

City of God, the, 97, 262. 

Clouds, 114. 

Comfort, 28, 275, 294. 

Communion, 26, 31, 53, 55, 59, 128, 

156, 387. 

broken, 91. 

Confession, 83, 130, 374. 
Confidence, 117, 330, 344. 
Conscience, the, 62, 87, 101, 137, 249, 

264, 365. 
Consecration, 35, 113. 
Contentment, 318. 
Courage, 54. 

Cross of Christ, the, 25, 27, 93, 182, 
213, 223, 233, 260, 283, 297, 366. 

Dead churches, 382. 
works, 338. 

Death, 10, 124, 163, 239, 270, 310, 

311, 325, 365, 388. 
Death of Christ, the, 270. 
Decision, 10. 

Desire for God, 87, 94, 242, 321. 

Determination, 152. 

Devotion, secret, 169, 170. 

Discipleship, 201, 279. 

Doing good, 125, 247, 259, 273, 358. 

nothing, 46, 186. 

Duty, 60, 124, 127, 130, 193, 194, 219, 
246. 

Emptiness, 305. 
Enemies of Christ, 341. 
Environment, 9, 333. 



Example, 269, 292, 329. 
Excuses, 204, 205. 

Failure, 46. 

Faith, 37, 55, 112, 131, 159, 160, 166, 
174, 184, 191, 194, 201, 257, 309, 
344, 346, 347, 354. 

and assurance, 343. 

and fear, 93, 203, 278. 

— — and sight, 12, 284. 

and works, 301, 355, 356. 

Faithfulness, 62, 185, 186, 187, 206, 

267, 3 2 7» 3 82 - 
Faithlessness, 56, 57. 
Fame, true, 153, 169. 
Fear and love, 378. 

of God, 63, 126. 

of man, 124. 

Fearfulness, 133. 
Feasts of the Lord, 34, 295. 
Feeding on Christ, 218. 
Feeling, 17. 

Fellowship, 45, 74, 182, 219, 298, 372. 
Flock of God, the, 204, 220, 221. 
Fools, 204. 
Forbearance, 328. 
Forgiveness, 103, 130, 306, 319. 
Fruit-bearing, 227, 229. 

Gentleness of Christ, the, 209, 289. 
God, 22, 70, 96, 255, 257. 

a refuge, 42, 71, 73, 188. 

a rock, 51, 132. 

a safeguard, 17, 25. 

a shield, 70. 

the commands of, 35, 42, 43, 

169, 245. 

the eternity of, 340. 

the faithfulness of, 50, 344, 35 1. 



Index 



God, the fear of, 63, 126. 

the friendship of, 23, 222, 230. 

the grace of, 138, 153, 174, 248, 

260, 301, 330, 372. 

the greatness of, 73. 

the guidance of, 83, 85, 141. 

the immutability of, 164, 352, 

355- 

the kingdom of, 114, 204, 368. 

the knowledge of, 30, 48, 145, 

154. 

the lessons of, 43, 46, 53, 69. 

the love of, 12,41, 134, 146, 148, 

225. 3 OI » 3°3> 33°> 378- 

the mercies of, 18, 39, 96, 149. 

the mercy of, 105, 160. 

the omnipotence of, 9, 48, 183, 

192, 224, 353. 

the overruling of, 65. 

the patience of, 64, 68, 160, 178. 

the power of, 22, 229, 301. 

the presence of, 31, 187, 227. 

the promises of, n, 17, 41, 83, 

I37> 154, 240, 276, 277, 348, 368. 
the promises and commands of, 

*5> 54- 

the providence of, 255. 

the purposes of, 30. 

the resources of, 29, 54, 83, in. 

the seci-ets of, 39, 79. 

the service of, 33, 58, 176, 180, 

186, 194, 200, 207, 236, 282, 302, 
362. 

the stability of, 73. 

the thoughts of, 112, 141. 

the voice of, 11, 211. 

will of, 20, 22, 69, 87, 97, 171, 

187, 203, 219, 245, 309. 
wisdom of, 95. 



God, Word of, 109, no, 133, 225, 260, 

3°9, 3 IO « 

no respecter of persons, 247. 

our Father, 170. 

our helper, 92, 134, 179. 

our light, 142. 

our strength, 36, 80, 136, 137, 

318, 359- 
God's preachers, 74. 
Godly and ungodly, the, 91. 
Good and evil, 253. 
Gospel, the, 188, 251, 290. 
Grave, the, 48, 272. 

Hearers, 201. 

Heart, the, 118, 119, 144, 177, 178. 

the door of the, 384, 385. 

Heaven, 49, 190, 206, 239, 283. 

rest in, 386. 

Heedfulness, 23, 29, 40, 217, 383. 
Holiness, 34, 128, 278, 351, 360. 
Holy Spirit, the, 227, 231, 232, 240, 

243. 2 94, 3o°> 3 o6 » 3°8, 3 2 7> 342. 
Hope, 252. 

Humility, 33, 55, 58, 158, 159, 303, 

357, 366. 
Hypocrisy, 184, 331, 332. 

Ideality, 269. 
Idols, 379. 

Inability of man, 148. 
Indecision, 15. 

Influence, 59, 120, 152, 153, 243, 308, 
346. 

Intercession, 226. 
Invitation, 389. 

Joy, 26, 102, 230, 314, 316. 
and weeping, 80. 



393 



Index 



Joy in heaven, 205. 

want of, 63. 

Judging, 265. 
Judgment, 127, 147, 264. 

Kindness, 201, 202, 294, 358. 
Kingdom of God, the, 114. 
Knowledge of God, the, 30, 48, 145, 
158. 

Lamb of God, the, 360. 

Labor and prayer, 319, 325. 

Law and the Gospel, the, 212, 373. 

of God, the, 147, 355. 

Liberality, 120. 
Life, a loom, 49, 287. 

purpose in, 135, 315. 

uncertainty of, 86. 

Likeness to Christ, 14, 151, 182, 281, 

295» 3°°> 3° 6 - 
Little things, 24, 69, 73, 123, 127,128, 

162, 176, 187, 217, 260. 
Looking to Christ, 72, 79, 80, ill, 

189, 242, 373. 
Love, 270, 284, 285. 

Man, the image of God, 164. 
Manna, 28, 36. 
Meditation, 109, 329. 
Meekness, 114. 

Mercy and judgment, 102, 136, 185. 

and justice, 362. 

Misuse of God's gifts, 125. 
Morning hour, the, 31, 32, 71, 98, 
280. 

Murmuring, 314, 329. 

Names of Christians, the, 260. 
Nearness to God, 321. 



Neglect of salvation, 125, 242. 
" Now," 100, 286, 357. 

Obedience, 17, 38, 39, 50, 52, 157, 

213, 215, 360. 
Omnipotence of God, the, 9, 48, 183, 

192, 224. 
Opportunity, 100, 308. 

Passing through life, 124, 260. 
Patience, 208, 326. 
Peace, 259, 298. 

of God, the, 188, 234, 238, 317, 

323. 

with God, 251. 

Personal work, 213. 
Pharisaism, 181. 

Pharisee and the publican, the, 207. 
Poverty, 195. 
Praise, 84, 94, 35 2 - 

Prayer, 18, 47, 63, 71, 78, 100, 101, 
105, 107, 120, 152, 164, 179, 180, 
189, 200, 203, 246, 255, 258, 271, 
316, 325, 327, 338, 358, 365. 

and praise, 96. 

Pride, 119, 121. 

Priesthood, 30. 

Procrastination, 100, 127, 286, 
Prophecy, fulfilled, 369. 
Prosperity, 1 16. 

Providence of God, the, 255, 256. 
Psalm xxiii., 75. 

Quietness, 131, 156, 325. 

Reflecting Christ, 304, 
Regeneration, 212, 213. 
Religion, 190, 215, 285, 287, 333. 
Repentance, 288, 374. 



Index 



Reproof, 305. 

Resignation, 15. 

Responsibility, 130, 380, 

Rest in Christ, 176, 177, 336, 337. 

Restfulness, 130. 

Restlessness, 89. 

Resurrection, 66, 271, 277, 325. 

of Christ, the, 359. 

Riches, 122, 192, 207. 
Righteousness, 143. 

Sabbath, the, 28, 381. 
Sacrifice, 258, 268. 
Safety in Christ, 99. 
Salvation, 80, 129, 130. 

and enjoyment, 248. 

Sanctification, 327. 

" Sealing," 299. 

Second coming, the, 233, 326. 

Secret devotion, 169, 170. 

faults, 74. 

Self conquest, 121, 311. 

control, 258. 

denial, 331. 

emptiness, 148, 261, 319. 

examination, 219, 290. 

knowledge, 384. 

will, 187, 194. 

Separation, 151, 186, 287, 288, 308 

3 l 5> 377- 
Sermons, 245. 
Silence of God, the, 221. 
Sin, 10, 91, 103, 120, 128, 142, 214 

219, 237, 254, 259, 362. 
Sins of Christians, the, 253. 
Sleep, 92. 
Snares, 66. 
Solitude, 153. 
Song, the new, 386. 



Sowing and reaping, 126, 131, 155, 

178, 295. 
Spiritual enlightenment, 262. 
'* Standing " and " withstanding," 257. 
Steadfastness, 273. 
Steel, 143. 
Substitution, 139. 
Suffering, 231, 235, 362, 387. 
Sympathy, 258, 259, 275, 294. 
of Christ, the, 243. 

Tears, 249. 

Temptation, 15, 16, 39, 166, 269, 334, 
354- 

Testing, 47, 131, 135, 209, 252, 337, 

345> 348, 3 6 °- 
Thanksgiving, 103, 243, 258. 
Things of God, the, 268. 
Thoughts, 122, 123, 242, 317. 
" Thy rod and thy staff," 77, 250. 
Time, 126, 267, 308, 376, 388. 
lost, 98, 99. 

and eternity, 16, 42, 141, 251, 

264, 375- 

To-day and to-morrow, 124, 287, 
357- 

Training of children, the, 122. 
Trial and blessing, 13, 223, 276, 282, 
287. 

Trials, 16, 18, 19, 21, 24, 44, 58, 67, 

68, 109, 150, 172, 256. 
Troubles, 104, 108, 149, 157, 171,235, 

349- 

Trust, 67, 79, 93, no, 134, 135, 138, 

145, 175, 268, 381. 
Trustworthiness, 19, 60, 186, 187. 
Truth, 79, 99, 123, 232, 237, 305. 
"Truth, Lord; yet," 179. 
Two masters, 172. 



Index 



Uncertainty of life, the, 86, 123. 
Union with Christ, 214, 226, 228, 236, 

266, 352. 
Unity, 311, 351. 

in heaven, 293. 

Urim and Thummim, the, 33. 
Use of talents, the, 194. 

Vanity of earthly things, the, 50, 90, 
375- 

Victory, 272, 278, 379, 385, 388. 
Waiting, 137. 

upon God, 133, 159, 193. 

Ways of God, the, 139, 140, 141, 250, 

355- 
Weeping, 72. 
Weighing plans, 161. 
Wheat and tares, 178. 



Whole heartedness, 106, 112, 242, 249, 

250, 266, 290, 316, 357. 
"Winning" Christ, 314. 
Wisdom, true, 109, 119, 353. 

of God, the, 95. 

Word of the Lord, the, 13, 35, 156, 

200, 361. 

Work for God, 58, 60, 62, 63, 120, 
131, 180, 193, 219, 222, 245, 273, 

3 02 » 3 l 3> 3 2 °> 33o, 340. 
Worldliness, 104, 190, 267, 288, 349, 

374- 

Worldly Christians, 173, 174, 308, 357. 

Worship, 88. 

and prayer, 16. 

" Yesterday," 362. 

Zeal, 257, 333. 



396 



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